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Paper short abstract

This study focuses on norms in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research by identifying analytical dimensions. It finds that such research deviates from norms in institutions and introduces co-production oriented towards sustainable transformation.

Paper long abstract

The institutional lens on addressing wicked problems as well as on achieving sustainable and just futures asks for transformative action as the new normal. Such action is realized in research institutions through interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, which approach wicked problems through epistemic diversity and participation. However, both organizational change and interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research face the structuration of fields, hampering critical, integrative, and boundary-crossing approaches. This issue is systemically caused by disciplining and gatekeeping phenomena iterated through various norms driving organizational practice. To address this problem, this paper asks the following research questions: What are the norms in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research? What roles do norms play in collaborative research crossing disciplines, fields, or institutions? Norms in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research are investigated through a meta-ethnography, and key metaphors are derived from the academic literature reviewed. As norms in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research are ambiguous and multidimensional, five analytical dimensions are identified to characterize and problematize norms in research institutions. They are specified according to the roles norms have in both knowledge production and research directions. Our findings reveal that interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research offer ways to counterbalance structural pressures and institutional barriers by increasing collaboration and introducing co-production. Besides, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research normalize transformation towards more sustainable and just futures.