Large Teams Have Developed Science and Technology; Small Teams Have Disrupted It

TL;DR

Large teams tend to develop popular, recent ideas, while small teams are more likely to disrupt the field by building on older, less prevalent ideas, with implications for supporting diverse team sizes.

Contribution

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of how team size influences scientific and technological innovation, highlighting the distinct roles of small and large teams over 60 years.

Findings

Large teams develop recent, popular ideas quickly.

Small teams disrupt by drawing on older, less prevalent ideas.

Disruption by small teams increases over time and with impact.

Abstract

Teams dominate the production of high-impact science and technology. Analyzing teamwork from more than 50 million papers, patents, and software products, 1954-2014, we demonstrate across this period that larger teams developed recent, popular ideas, while small teams disrupted the system by drawing on older and less prevalent ideas. Attention to work from large teams came immediately, while advances by small teams succeeded further into the future. Differences between small and large teams magnify with impact - small teams have become known for disruptive work and large teams for developing work. Differences in topic and re- search design account for part of the relationship between team size and disruption, but most of the effect occurs within people, controlling for detailed subject and article type. Our findings suggest the importance of supporting both small and large teams for the sustainable vitality of science and technology.