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Death of distance? Remote collaboration and scientific breakthroughs

Carl Benedikt Frey & Giorgio Presidente

Industrial and Corporate Change2026https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtag012article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

In this paper, we explore how the rise of remote collaboration has shaped the pursuit of new ideas in scientific discovery. To systematically distinguish between disruptive breakthroughs and incremental discoveries, we use citation data for over 10 million research teams—publishing in 11 fields of research from 1961 to 2020. On average, we document a robust and significant negative correlation between remote collaboration and breakthrough discovery. However, beginning in the 2010s, such correlation tapers off and even becomes positive. We provide evidence suggesting that the reversal is driven by improvements in key technologies needed for remote collaboration. We conclude by deriving some implications for the organization of knowledge work.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtag012

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@article{carl2026,
  title        = {{Death of distance? Remote collaboration and scientific breakthroughs}},
  author       = {Carl Benedikt Frey & Giorgio Presidente},
  journal      = {Industrial and Corporate Change},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtag012},
}

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Death of distance? Remote collaboration and scientific breakthroughs

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.