CALL FOR PAPERS

Boundary Spanning in Global Organizations

Guest Editors: Andreas Schotter, Ivey Business School, Canada Ram Mudambi, Temple University Yves Do , I!S"AD A#ai $aur, Rut%ers Business School BACKGROU ! "O SPEC#AL #SSUE $lobal or%ani ations are inherently comple&' Rapidly developin% emer%in% mar(ets and increasin% spatial dispersion o) innovative activities coupled *ith di%ital conver%ence create the need )or continuously developin% ne* *ays o) coordinatin%, or%ani in%, and recon)i%urin% o) or%ani ational structures and routines across inter and intra+or%ani ational boundaries' "arly studies discussed the roles o) %ate(eepers in the conte&t o) technolo%y trans)er bet*een di))erent departments or )unctional areas *ithin or%ani ations' In more recent research, one stream has e&plored the role o) boundary ob#ects as conte&tual aids )or cross+boundary (no*led%e sharin%' A complementary stream has be%un to investi%ate individuals as boundary spanners and their roles in e))ectively operatin% across comple& inter+ and intra+or%ani ational, socio+cultural and %eo%raphic boundaries' Individuals are the nested antecedent to or%ani ational level actions and there)ore deserve care)ul theoretical and empirical deliberation' "&istin% research on boundary spannin% is mainly conceptual or based on a limited number o) case studies' The research su%%ests that a small number o) mana%ers *ith uni,ue s(ill sets or personality traits have emer%ed as critical )acilitators )or cross+ boundary coordination' Boundaries can be both e&plicit as bet*een parents and subsidiaries o) multinational enterprises, and also implicit as bet*een line mana%ers and top mana%ement' -or e&ample, middle mana%ers have been ar%ued to per)orm the role o) boundary spanners bet*een line mana%ers and top mana%ement in a %eneral or%ani ational conte&t' A delineation o) e&plicit and implicit boundaries across or%ani ational subunits as *ell as *ithin or%ani ational subunits is important to understand the boundary spannin% )unction' -rom a mana%erial perspective, little is (no*n about the characteristics o) boundary spanners and *hether their capabilities are inherent or can be developed' Althou%h the literature has provided some use)ul insi%hts, most e&istin% research treats the individual actors and the or%ani ational environment as t*o discrete dimensions' -urther, the boundary+spannin% role is essentially associated *ith structural holes and brid%in% ties, so (ey ,uestions arise as to ho* they a))ect or%ani ations and or%ani ational capabilities, and ho* or%ani ational structures )oster or hinder boundary spannin%'
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-rom an or%ani ational architecture perspective little is (no*n about the speci)icities o) boundaries and ho* they mani)est themselves other than those that are e&plicit in the )orm o) hierarchies, )unctional domains, or %eo%raphic territories' In %lobal or%ani ations, or%ani ational subunits o)ten become embedded in %eo%raphical conte&ts that di))er in terms o) culture, institutions, lan%ua%e, etc' These or%ani ational realities create implicit boundaries in many dimensions, e'%', cultural and psychic distance, institutional incompatibilities as *ell as lin%uistic issues that may be labeled .lost in translation/' The boundary spannin% )unction in such or%ani ations includes a *ide ran%e o) coordination mechanisms, *hich need to be e&plored in %reater detail' The boundary spannin% phenomenon provides an opportunity )or movin% beyond emblematic borro*in% o) individual level theories and applyin% them to or%ani ational level research' This *ill move the research a%enda to*ard addressin% both micro+ macro lin(a%e and macro+micro lin(a%es systematically, thus substantially advancin% theory' 0ith this special issue *e see( to connect di))erent, thou%h loosely related research domains' The buoyin% micro)oundations o) strate%y discussion, research on strate%y as practice, and behavioral strate%y could be particularly )ertile areas )or such an approach' In addition, this special issue see(s to )oster cross+)ertili ation )rom and bet*een di))erent epistemolo%ical orientations' This includes research in the areas o) industrial and or%ani ational psycholo%y and behavioral economics, amon% others' "$PES OF SUB%#SS#O SOL#C#"E!

Buildin% on e&tant research, *e see( contributions that either add empirical insi%hts or1and advance theory buildin% re%ardin% the boundary spannin% )unctions in %lobal or%ani ations as *ell as the characteristics, development and roles o) boundary spanners, a special type o) mana%er that allo*s or%ani ations to mana%e more e))ectively across intra+ and inter+or%ani ational boundaries' 0e are interested in theoretical, empirical and analytical submissions' 0e *elcome submissions that address both, or%ani ational and mana%erial based approaches to boundary spannin%' The submission to this special issue must %o beyond anecdotal descriptions o) the phenomenon and represent a substantial contribution to theory development' The topics that the special issue intends to cover include 2but are not limited to34 !e&inition: 0hat are e&plicit and implicit boundaries, ho* do they mani)est themselves materially, conte&tually, intellectually, perceptually and )rom a structural and1or mana%erial coordination perspective5 E'olution o& boundaries: 6o* do boundaries arise, become entrenched in some circumstances and dissolve in others5 To *hat e&tent do boundaries evolve dynamically over time and ho* do boundary+spannin% roles emer%e5 6o* can analyses o) boundaries improve our understandin% o) con)licts and con)lict resolution in %eneral5 Organizational 'ersus (anagerial le'el o& analysis: Is boundary spannin% an or%ani ational capability or a mana%erial s(ill or both5 0hat is the role o)
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mana%ement in either )osterin% or hinderin% boundary spannin%5 0hat are mana%erial or individual boundary spannin% s(ills and ho* are they developed5 6o* can our understandin% o) *ell+(no*n or%ani ational )unctions 2middle mana%ers, sta)) vs' line mana%ers, etc'3 be improved usin% an analysis o) boundaries5 Boundary spanning) a *ause or e&&e*t: Is the boundary spannin% )unction a cause or an e))ect5 In some conte&ts, the boundary spannin% )unction could be an outcome o) particular )orms o) or%ani ational values or structures, *hile in others it could be a means o) creatin% and rein)orcin% them' Boundary spanning 'ersus boundary setting: Is boundary spannin% al*ays a %ood thin%5 Are there situations in *hich boundary settin% 2and the associated speciali ation3 is more important than boundary spannin%5 Boundary spanners 'ersus gate+eepers: 0hat are the individual, )unctional and conceptual similarities that boundary spanners and %ate(eepers share *ith each other5 0hat are the di))erences that distin%uish them )rom each other5 Organizational adaption: 6o* do %lobal or%ani ations adapt over time to ne* boundary challen%es and *hat are the or%ani ational structures that ma(e boundary spanners more or less e))ective5 #ntra 'ersus inter organizational perspe*ti'e: Are there )undamental di))erences bet*een .inter/ and .intra/ or%ani ational boundary spannin% activities5 6o* does boundary spannin% relate to the dialectical process o) chan%e implementation 2theses3 and resistance to chan%e 2antitheses3 in comple&1%lobal or%ani ations5 Role o& e,ternal *onte,t in boundary spanning: In %lobal or%ani ations, or%ani ational subunits o)ten become embedded in %eo%raphical conte&ts that di))er in terms o) culture, institutions, lan%ua%e, etc' 6o* do these di))erences a))ect the boundary spannin% )unction as *ell as the e))ectiveness o) boundary spanners5 SUB%#SS#O PROCESS A ! !EA!L# ES

7apers *ill be revie*ed )ollo*in% the 8MS double+blind revie* process and should be prepared usin% the 8MS $uidelines, *hich can be revie*ed here' 7apers should be submitted by !ECE%BER -) ./-0 via e+mail to the %uest editors 2%lobalboundaryspanner9%mail'com3' The editors *elcome in)ormal en,uiries related to proposed topics' Manuscript Development 0or(shop4 The editors o) the Special Issue anticipate holdin% a manuscript development *or(shop and con)erence )rom April :; < :=, >?:@ at the Ivey Business School in Canada' Authors o) manuscripts *ho receive an invitation to revise and resubmit )or a second round o) revie* *ill be invited to attend this *or(shop' 7resentation at the *or(shop does not %uarantee acceptance o) the paper )or publication in 8MS' Conversely, attendance is not prere,uisite )or publication in the special issue'