International Research Collaborations: The Experiences of South African and United States Researchers Learning to Adapt during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals and organizations were tasked with learning how to adapt and flourish during a challenging time (Sun et al., 2021). This task was relevant to international research collaborations as travel for in-person interactions was impossible. In the past, these interactions allowed collaborators to engage with one another directly and understand each other’s cultures. The lack of in-person engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic left those involved in international research collaborations with the problem of building relationships across cultures when traveling to other countries and institutions was impossible. This problem of practice is addressed in the study.

International research collaborations have increasingly become the focus of empirical inquiries (Bond, 2021). Most of these studies were conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic and discussed measurements of success, opportunities and risks, mechanisms, and models of international research collaboration (Bukvova, 2010, 3; Iglic et al., 2017; Jaumont & Moja, 2019; Milton & Mwema, 2009). During COVID-19, the few published studies on international collaboration focused on international scientific research related to the COVID-19 virus and how the research could translate into COVID-era governmental policies (Fry et al., 2020, p. 2; Buitendijik, 2020). No studies exist on learning to adapt in international research collaborations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, there is research related to international research collaborations between South Africa and the U.S. from before the pandemic, but no studies have been published regarding these contexts during COVID-19 (Iglic et al., 2017, 154; Envuladu et al., 2022).

The study takes complexity theory and adaptive learning as the theoretical framework. In complexity theory the organization is dynamic and continuously in a state of flux or entropy based on agents within and outside the organization. Importantly, complexity theory in organizations looks at paradoxes that arise in organizations with the same goals and organizational environment and how the outputs are often different depending on agents within the organization (Lowell, 2016; Grobman, 2005). Adaptive learning, as defined by Chiva et al. (2010) “is a self-organizational process that might happen when individuals and groups within organizations mainly exercise logic or deductive reasoning, concentrate, discuss and focus on improving any mental model, knowledge, process, etc. (explicate order)” (Chiva et al., 2010, p. 123). Complexity theory provide a framework for understanding how researchers learned to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of this poster session is to understand the experiences of learning to adapt of South African and U.S. university researchers engaged in international research collaborations during the complex environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve this purpose, the following research questions will be investigated:
1. How do university researchers from South Africa and the U.S. describe their collaborative research experiences during COVID-19?
2. How do university researchers from South Africa and the U.S. learn to adapt during COVID-19?
3. What facilitated and hindered their learning to adapt in their collaboration during COVID-19?

To explore the experiences of learning to adapt of South African and U.S. university researchers engaged in international research collaborations during the complex environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic, in depth interviews will be conducted. This will be followed by a priori analysis based on the themes derived from the research questions.