Researchers at the Institute of Organizational Design und Collaboration Engineering (ODCE) at Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) have shown that a single informal lunch between unknown people from different companies can dramatically increase the likelihood of new professional ties, creative knowledge exchange, and lasting collaboration — even across industry, geographic, and gender boundaries.
Harold Gamero, Prof. Dr. Tim Schweisfurth, and Harini Marudavanan at ODCE conducted four rounds of field experiments at a technology park in Hamburg, home to approximately 800 employees across 120 small and medium-sized enterprises. Participants were randomly assigned to "Lunch-Roulette" sessions — informal meals designed to bring together employees from different firms. Analysing 876 dyadic interactions, the team found that a single shared meal can meaningfully initiate, deepen, and sustain collaborative relationships. The findings are relevant to any manager or organization seeking low-cost, practical ways to build cross-boundary collaboration.
Participants seated together were 21.98 times more likely to form a new professional connection, showed 3.68 times stronger existing ties, and were more than five times as likely to engage in creative collaboration, stay in touch, and follow up with a meeting. A meta-analysis pooling all five outcomes confirmed that these effects were strong, consistent, and not driven by any single measure (I² = 0.0%).
The study also examined whether the intervention bridged common collaboration barriers. Geographic and industry-related distance — typically significant obstacles — were fully neutralized in the intervention group. Gender differences were largely bridged. Network non-redundancy and functional differences were partially overcome. Hierarchical distance proved to be the most resistant to short, randomized interactions.
A qualitative follow-up eight months later showed that some relationships had persisted through sporadic contact, trust, and familiarity, occasionally leading to planned future collaboration. Many participants also highlighted social and psychological benefits — feeling recognized, comfortable, and a sense of belonging — suggesting that engineered serendipity builds relational infrastructure even where sustained collaboration requires additional managerial support.
Explore the results interactively: timtisc83.github.io/odce-research-news/odce-results-dashboard.html
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Tim G. Schweisfurth
Institute for Organizational Design and Collaboration Engineering
Hamburg University of Technology
Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 4
Room 3.019/Building D
21073 Hamburg
phone: +49 (0)40 42878-4070
mail: tim.schweisfurth(at)tuhh(dot)de
