On the Role of Network Structures in the Effectiveness of Boundary-Spanning Activity in Work Teams

Abstract

With the prevalence of team-based organizational structures, researchers have devoted considerable effort to figure out what makes teams effective. In this vein, boundary spanning activity – a set of team processes through which teams establish linkages and manage interactions with external parties – has been demonstrated to be a key determinant of team effectiveness. As a complement to previous research that has revealed the beneficial impact of boundary-spanning activity on team performance, this research addresses contingencies that drive the effects of boundary-spanning activity on performance. Specifically, following previous research showing the relevance of social network perspective in understanding team processes and effectiveness, this study addresses the role of social network structures, namely, spanners’ network centrality and network connectivity, in the relationship between boundary-spanning activity and team performance. We empirically tested our hypothesis with data collected from 70 nursing teams. The results indicated that the level of connectivity augmented while spanners’ centrality mitigated the beneficial impact of boundary-spanning activity on performance. The current findings point to the need to explore network concepts into boundary-spanning research.