Organizational Membership Negotiation of Boundary Spanners: Becoming a Competent Jack of All Trades and Master of . . . Interactional Expertise. (February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Woo, DaJung; Myers, Karen K.
• Is Part Of: Management communication quarterly. Volume 34:Number 1(2020:Feb.)
• Page Start: 85
• Page End: 120
• Publication Date: 2020-02
• Subjects: membership negotiation -- organizational assimilation -- organizational socialization -- boundary spanners -- communication professionals -- expertise; Communication in management -- Periodicals; Communication in organizations -- Periodicals; 658.4505
• DOI: 10.1177/0893318919887371
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0893-3189

Abstract

Organizations hire in-house communication professionals to maximize efficiency in managing information and stakeholder relationships across various internal and external boundaries. The boundary-spanning aspect of in-house communication professionals' job has the potential to shape their membership negotiation (MN, that is, ongoing communication processes through which individuals develop meanings of their organizational participation) in important ways that differ from the experiences of those who become integrated into a workgroup or domain with a well-defined boundary. Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews with communication professionals employed at public sector organizations, this study explores key characteristics and challenges of their boundary-spanning roles and how they negotiated meanings of their membership as they navigated the challenges. Based on the findings, the authors propose a novel conceptual model of boundary spanners' MN, future research directions, and pragmatic implications for employers of boundary-spanning members.