Boundary Objects Reconsidered: from Bridges and Anchors to Barricades and Mazes

Abstract

Boundary objects have been presented in the extant literature as playing a pivotal role in initiating and facilitating change as they are considered to be an important means of transforming knowledge and changing practice across specialist knowledge domains. Boundary objects are typically developed and used in change programmes to provide a common frame of reference for communication across different domains of knowledge and practice. In this paper an alternative framing, based upon boundary objects as forms of texts, is developed. Three discursive approaches are used to re-analyze existing contributions to the literature. First, ‘intertextual analysis’ (Allen, 2000) is applied to Brown's (2004) work on public inquiry reports. Second, ‘recontextualization’ (Bernstein, 1996) is used to reconsider Sapsed and Salter's (2004) work on project management tools. Finally, Gantt charts (Yakura, 2002) are re-examined using Iedema's (1999) concept of ‘formalization’. By providing a discursive analysis of boundary objects the power implications of boundary objects are amplified in terms of aspects of authorship, readership and plurivocality which suggest that whilst in some instances boundary objects may operate as ‘bridges and anchors’ (Star and Griesemer, 1989, p. 414) supporting and promoting change, in others they might equally be perceived as barricades and mazes, reinforcing existing power structures and occupational hierarchies, and creating barriers to change.