Spanning the boundary of organisations: a systematic review of the inter-organisational boundary-spanning literature
Date
2018
Authors
Tang, R.
Qiu, X.
Zhang, M.
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Zhang, M.W.
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Book chapter
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Source details - Title: Trust building and boundary spanning in cross-border management, 2018 / Zhang, M.W. (ed./s), Ch.10, pp.181-217
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Abstract
Inter-organisational boundary spanning indicates various communication and coordination activities performed by individuals between organisations which integrate activities across multiple cultural, institutional and organisational contexts. Yet the theoretical roots and the conceptual dimensions of boundary-spanning research are still ambiguous. We conducted a systematic literature review to look back on the evolution of inter-organisational boundary-spanning research and explore its conceptual dimensions. Our analysis is based on 32 papers published between 1977 and 2017 in the top ten management journals and reveals a growing trend of publishing inter-organisational boundary-spanning research in top management journals. For theoretical development, the researchers in this particular field of study need to refine the definition of boundary spanning to further reduce the level of conceptual ambiguity. This in turn will help gauge the scope of boundary-spanning membership and differentiation of their roles and responsibilities. We anticipate some changes and further development of research methods to reflect such refinement of the relevant constructs.
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Copyright 2018 Routledge