How do boundary-spanning individuals shape the diffusion of scientific knowledge? Using bibliometric data to trace citation trajectories, we explore their impact along two dimensions. First, boundary-spanner-led research reaches significantly more distinct institutional sectors than single-sector research. Second, this diffusion operates as a directed conduit: boundary-spanners channel knowledge toward the specific external sectors in which they are embedded. For instance, a university-hospital boundary-spanner with only university-based co-authors produces research cited by hospital researchers at roughly twice the baseline rate (+12.5 percentage points). This directed routing pattern holds across all examined sector combinations (+8 to +14 percentage points). These findings reveal that multi-sector academic careers serve a specific systemic function. Rather than simply broadcasting knowledge to wider audiences, boundary-spanners act as directed pipelines, routing scientific knowledge toward practice-oriented sectors it would otherwise rarely reach.
Tong et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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