Abstract
Large-scale innovative projects (LSIPs) play a central role in arranging for exploratory and strategic opportunity seeking that transcends organizational and disciplinary boundaries. This paper outlines a theory that addresses the two most salient characteristics of such organizations: their extreme task uniqueness and high degree of interdisciplinarity. Drawing on the work of Peter Galison and the case of the Radiation Laboratory project, we introduce the notion of LSIPs as ‘temporary trading zones’ and posit the centrality of ‘interlanguage creation’ for coordinating such projects. We demonstrate that LSIPs foster and, indeed, practically necessitate the creation of an interlanguage via interaction among three core elements: linguistic representations, project management tools and material representations. Summarizing our observations, we propose a process model of interlanguage creation in LSIPs; this model identifies five critical developmental phases that reveal how the three core elements interact to create an interlanguage.
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