Self-interestedness in Research Collaboration and its Association with Career Stage and Nature of Collaboration: A Survey of Zimbabwean Researchers

Abstract

During collaboration in research, it may happen that some researchers become involved in behaviours that reflect so-called ‘self-interestedness’, which means that they pursue their personal interest or benefit without considering others. This study examined how researchers in Zimbabwe perceive instances of self-interestedness among research collaborators, and how these perceptions differ according to their career stage and the nature of collaboration. An online survey of researchers in Zimbabwe was conducted to gather information about six instances of self-interestedness among research collaborators. The results show that Zimbabwean researchers involved exclusively in national collaboration reported greater degrees of collaborator self-interestedness than Zimbabwean researchers involved in international collaboration. However, early-career researchers and established researchers did not differ significantly regarding their experiences of collaborator self-interestedness. Measures aimed at capacitating research organisations and research teams in developing countries in the African context, to counter collaborator self-interestedness, are recommended.