This study examines the collaborative research relationships which accounting faculty identified as having the greatest influence on their career development. We investigate whether the benefits of working collaboratively on research projects extend beyond research guidance to include career guidance and psychosocial support. We report on accounting faculty views of benefits associated with collaborative research relationships, focusing on the effect of gender and career stage. Gender barriers in developing important academic research relationships are not manifest in the results of the study, which differs from prior research suggesting that cross-gender relations are more difficult to develop. Forty-six percent of the respondents considered the co-author that had the greatest influence on their career development to be a mentor, but most relationships were viewed as peer collaborations, especially when between female co-authors. Women were less likely to report initiating research collaborations. The gender composition of the research dyad demonstrated explanatory power in respondents’ expectations of benefits to be provided to co-authors, as well as in the actual benefits provided.
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