Despite being a critical success factor for an organization, beginning in the 1970s, the term - 'boundary spanning' has had an intermittent research history: there has been no systematic body of research that has evolved over time. This book aims to invigorate, excite, and expand the literature on boundary spanning in a diverse range of disciplines such as sociology, organizational psychology, management, medicine, defence, health, social work, and community services. The book serves as the first collection of reviews on boundary spanning in organizations.

Part 1. Individuals and Concepts 1. Boundary Crossings of Out-of-Field Teachers: Locating Learning Possibilities amid Disruption Linda Hobbs 2. Boundary Objects in Boundary Spanning Jacob D Vakkayil 3. From Individual to Collective Boundary Spanning: Knowledge Outcomes from Recombinative Actions Preeta M. Banerjee and Rafael A. Corredoira Part 2. Groups and Teams 4. Framing Wicked Problems in Enterprise-System Innovation Project Groups Susan Gasson 5. Towards a Conceptualization of Inter-Team Boundary Activities: Identifying Intra- and Inter-Team Contextual Facilitators Anit Somech and Anat Drach-Zahavy 6. Difficulties in Organizing Boundary Spanning Activities of Inter- Organizational Teams Thomas Stephen Calvard 7. Boundary Spanning to Address Indigenous Disadvantage in Australia Fiona Buick 8. Conspiring for the 'Common Good': Collusion and Spanning Boundaries in Organizations Janice Langan-Fox, Sharon Grant, and Vikas Anand Part 3. Management 9. The Complexities of School Leadership: Many Boundaries to Cross Philip Riley 10. Boundary Spanning Leadership in an Interdependent World Charles J. Palus, Donna L. Chrobot-Mason, and Kristin L. Cullen 11. Boundary Spanning as enacted in Three Organizational Functions: New Venture Management, Project Management, and Product Management David Wilemon Part 4. Organizations 12. Trusting across Boundaries Frens Kroeger and Reinhard Bachmann 13. A Field-of-Practice view of Boundary Spanning in and across Organizations: Transactive and Transformative Boundary Spanning Practices Natalia Levina and Emmanuelle Vaast 14. Hospital Culture and Infection Control: Acceptance, Compliance and Complications across Boundaries Peter N. Rosenweg and Janice Langan-Fox 15. The Role of Organizational Controls and Boundary Spanning in Software Development Outsourcing: Implications for Project Performance Anandasivam Gopal and Sanjay Gosain