Scientists in a Changed Institutional Environment

Abstract

How do scientists react when the institutional setting in which they conduct their work changes radically? How do long-standing norms regarding the social responsibility of scientists fare? What factors influence whether scientists embrace or reject the new institutions and norms? We examine these questions using data from a unique survey of 602 scientists in Russia, whose research institutions experienced a sustained crisis and sweeping changes following the collapse of the Soviet Union. We develop measures of how respondents view financing based on grants and other institutional changes in the Russian science system, as well as measures of two norms regarding scientists' social responsibility. We find that the majority of scientists have adapted, in the sense that they hold positive views of the new institutions, but a diversity of orientations remains. Social responsibility norms are common but far from universal among Russian scientists. The main correlates of adaptation are age and current success at negotiating the new institutions, though prospective success, work context, and ethnicity have some of the hypothesized associations. As for social responsibility norms, the main source of variation is age: younger scientists are more likely to embrace individualistic rather than socially oriented norms.