An Integrative Model of the Role of Structural, Behavioural, and Cognitive Coordination in Intergroup Effectiveness: How middle managers play a role

Jeanine Porck, Daan van Knippenberg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)
39 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Coordinating interdependent teams' effective performance of joint tasks presents serious challenges to organizations and their middle managers. But an integrative theoretical understanding of how to coordinate such intergroup effectiveness and what role middle managers play is missing. Consolidating three separate literatures, we develop an integrative framework of the role of and interactions between structural, behavioural, and cognitive coordination in intergroup effectiveness. We propose that behavioural coordination through middle manager boundary spanning and cognitive coordination through intergroup strategic consensus (shared understanding of strategy between teams) can substitute for structural coordination (i.e., when teams do not share division membership). Moreover, we hypothesize that behavioural coordination and cognitive coordination strengthen each other in improving intergroup effectiveness. Multisource data on 188 intergroup dyads support our predictions. Our integrative framework elucidates how these coordination mechanisms combine in driving intergroup effectiveness and suggests that middle managers and their boundary spanning have a critical role in modern team-based organizations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1752-1785
Number of pages34
JournalJournal of Management Studies
Volume60
Issue number7
Early online date2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Society for the Advancement of Management Studies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Research programs

  • RSM ORG

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