From Boundary Spanning to Intergroup Knowledge Integration: The Role of Boundary Spanners’ Metaknowledge and Proactivity

Julija N. Mell; Daan van Knippenberg; Wendy P. van Ginkel; Pursey P.M.A.R. Heugens

doi:10.1111/joms.12797

From Boundary Spanning to Intergroup Knowledge Integration: The Role of Boundary Spanners’ Metaknowledge and Proactivity

Julija N. Mell^*, Daan van Knippenberg, Wendy P. van Ginkel, Pursey P.M.A.R. Heugens

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Intergroup knowledge integration, that is the acquisition, processing, and utilization of knowledge across group boundaries, is a critical source of competitive advantage in modern organizations. Prior research has highlighted the important role of boundary spanning knowledge exchange for intergroup knowledge integration, neglecting, however, the question of what makes individual boundary spanners more effective in fostering intergroup knowledge integration. Integrating boundary spanning literature with theories of group information processing, we hypothesize that the effect of individual boundary spanning ties on intergroup knowledge integration depends on the boundary spanners’ levels of metaknowledge, i.e., knowledge of who knows what in their respective groups, and proactivity. We find general support for our predictions in a study of 457 engineering consultants nested in 22 interdependent business units within an organization. Additional criterion analyses confirm the material importance of intergroup knowledge integration for group performance. Our findings have implications for literatures on intergroup effectiveness, team cognition, and proactivity.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1723-1755
Number of pages	33
Journal	Journal of Management Studies
Volume	59
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12797
Publication status	Published - Nov 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The manuscript has benefitted from the thoughtful comments of Bernardo Lima, Andreas Richter, Christopher Barnes, Daan Stam, Maartje Schouten, Basak Manders, and Colin Lee as well as seminar participants at the Rotterdam School of Management, London Business School, INSEAD, and ESSEC Business School. A much earlier version of this paper was presented at the Academy of Management 2014 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia and a short version of it is included in its Best Paper Proceedings.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Management Studies published by Society for the Advancement of Management Studies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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abstract = "Intergroup knowledge integration, that is the acquisition, processing, and utilization of knowledge across group boundaries, is a critical source of competitive advantage in modern organizations. Prior research has highlighted the important role of boundary spanning knowledge exchange for intergroup knowledge integration, neglecting, however, the question of what makes individual boundary spanners more effective in fostering intergroup knowledge integration. Integrating boundary spanning literature with theories of group information processing, we hypothesize that the effect of individual boundary spanning ties on intergroup knowledge integration depends on the boundary spanners{\textquoteright} levels of metaknowledge, i.e., knowledge of who knows what in their respective groups, and proactivity. We find general support for our predictions in a study of 457 engineering consultants nested in 22 interdependent business units within an organization. Additional criterion analyses confirm the material importance of intergroup knowledge integration for group performance. Our findings have implications for literatures on intergroup effectiveness, team cognition, and proactivity.",

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From Boundary Spanning to Intergroup Knowledge Integration: The Role of Boundary Spanners’ Metaknowledge and Proactivity

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