While traditional studies have emphasised the benefits of teamwork, the cost of teams in innovation has been overlooked.

By leveraging big data and AI tools, Dr. Lingfei Wu’s research identifies disruptive innovation in science and technology, showing how large teams can hinder individual creativity that might otherwise drive breakthrough advancement in the field. Team hierarchy is a key factor, with early-career scientists often playing a supporting role in idea implementation rather than leading the generation of new ideas. Large teams can also obscure individual recognition, exacerbating the contribution-credit paradox in science—a phenomenon first identified by sociologist R. K. Merton in the 1960s. This issue has become increasingly relevant today, as teams grow ubiquitous across domains, yet not all team members receive recognition for their contributions.

Join Dr Lingfei Wu, Visiting Fellow on the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Work, as he discusses his research and its implications for innovation.

Registration on this page is to watch the event online. To attend in-person at the Oxford Martin School, please register at https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/events/costs-of-teams-in-innovation

Lingfei Wu is an Assistant Professor of Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. His research uses big data, complexity science, and AI to explore Team Science and Innovation. While prior studies highlight the benefits of teams, his work uniquely addresses their costs—specifically, how large teams can overshadow individual autonomy, as well as creativity and recognition. He also investigates organizational and policy changes to resolve conflicts between individual and team success in innovation.

Lingfei's research is widely recognized in Computational Social Science and the Science of Science, featuring publications in prestigious journals such as Nature and PNAS. His work has been featured in major outlets, including The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, The Atlantic, and Scientific American. As a thought leader in research evaluation, Lingfei has consulted for organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Novo Nordisk Foundation, and John Templeton Foundation. His research and teaching excellence have earned accolades like the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, Richard King Mellon Award, and Oxford Martin Fellowship.

'The costs of large teams in innovation’ with Dr Lingfei Wu