Potential and recognized boundary spanners in multinational corporations

Kristiina Mäkelä, Wilhelm Barner-Rasmussen, Mats Ehrnrooth and Alexei Koveshnikov

Journal of World Business, 2019, vol. 54, issue 4, 335-349

Abstract: Boundary spanners play an important role in multinational corporations (MNC), yet it is unclear who these valuable individuals are and why certain individuals, and not others, perform this role. We advance a ‘recognition’ perspective based on whether and how relevant others on both sides on the boundary experience positive impact. A dynamic integrated mixed method analysis of 118 individuals involved in headquarters-subsidiary interactions in four MNCs, shows that only a minority are ‘recognized boundary spanners’, experienced by others to positively impact intergroup relations. We identify different categories and mechanisms of recognition, and make a methodological contribution by integrating qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Keywords: Boundary spanning; Recognition; In-group; Out-group; Mixed methodology; Multinational corporations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951617300135
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:worbus:v:54:y:2019:i:4:p:335-349

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620401/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 620401/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2019.05.001

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of World Business is currently edited by David Collings and Jonathan Doh

More articles in Journal of World Business from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().