Overcoming recognition delays in disruptive research: The impact of team size, familiarity, and reputation

The relationship between disruption and delayed recognition is a critical research topic, yet the connection between the degree of disruption and delayed acknowledgment remains unclear. This study investigates the extent of recognition delay for disruptive papers using the SciSciNet dataset. We conducted a quantitative analysis based on this extensive dataset to examine the relationship between the Disruption Index and the Sleeping Beauty Index, revealing that highly disruptive papers often face a latency period before gaining acknowledgment, with significant variations across disciplines and over time. Our analysis of team dynamics indicates that larger teams, the presence of high-impact authors, fixed teams, and hierarchically structured teams can significantly reduce this delay. These findings provide insights into optimizing team strategies and understanding the complexities of academic recognition. They offer valuable implications for researchers and policymakers aiming to foster and accelerate the acknowledgment of groundbreaking scientific contributions. •Disruptive papers have a higher probability to have delayed recognition.•We highlight how recognition delays for disruptive research vary significantly across academic disciplines and over time.•Larger teams and pre-established collaborative relationships can reduce delays in recognizing disruptive research.•Highly reputed scientists in research teams accelerate the acknowledgment of groundbreaking findings.