This study is motivated by the growing prevalence of “team science”—science conducted in teams.
While “team science” is known to have higher impact than solo efforts, it is also more likely to fail. This study examines the mechanisms that account for the assembly of teams and their impact on team performance. It presents a mediated model integrating team composition mechanisms as well as unique characteristics of virtual scientific teams supported by ICTs.
We study scientometric data and digital traces of teams that were developing software tools published on nanoHub.org, a cyberinfrastructure-enabled virtual collaboration environment. The study explores ways in which team assembly and nanoHub features might be improved to foster virtual scientific collaboration.