Boundary Spanning

By Hitesh Bhasin July 6, 2016

The united nations was formed so that the countries which are a part of the
Nations collaborate with each other and make the world a better place. For
such collaboration, regular boundary spanning is needed.
Boundary spanning is a term wherin you pass the boundaries set for you, for a
greater good or do get some work done. In business, boundary spanning is
when you cross the boundaries set by your organization, and collaborate with
someone else to get a task done.

The definition of Boundary spanning in business

is
“Boundary Spanning is an effort within an organization that involves activity
aimed at bridging one or more recognized organizational boundaries to
facilitate the flow of information across such boundaries.”

There are many examples over the years where boundary spanning has
occured so that both companies have benefitted. The term boundary spanning
was coined after world war 2, and it was found that most of the companies
benefitted when they exchanged Intel. The growth was faster and more
efficient when boundary spanning was applied.
There are 3 ways that boundary spanning can be
used by an organization.
1) Within the department – As an individual, you can contact a different
individual from the same department to solve a problem. Example would be a
sales guy contacting a senior sales guy to solve an issue. The boundary here is
just the difference in their levels within an organization and such boundaries
should anyways not exist.
2) Within business units – There can be information and resources exchanged
within strategic business units. A most common example is that advertising
and marketing costs are generally bourne by different business units of an
organization. These units then co ordinate within themselves to use the budget
appropriately. R&D might co ordinate with sales, product management might
co ordinate with service, so on and so forth.
3) With other businesses – Many a times i have seen that boundary spanning
is done when two different businesses want something in common. For
example, if 2 businesses have the same customer and the customer wants
something unique, then the businesses can collaborate within themselves to
give a better solution. Same ways, cooperative advertising is a term wherein 3
different business entities are marketing.
One point which is most useful for organizations is that boundary spanning is
literally a requirement when you are looking for holistic marketing. Holistic
marketing means that the marketing manager is trying to present a united
front to the customer. He is trying that each and every customer touch point is
excellent in its response and it is building the brandfor the company.
A holistic approach for an organization can only be achieved through
boundary spanning. In an organization, if you want to measure performance
and growth, then boundaries will have to be made. But you have to span them
from time to time to become a better organization.

Boundary spanning is reaching across borders, margins, or sections to build

relationships, interconnections and interdependencies in order to manage
complex problems. Boundary spanning individuals develop partnerships and
collaboration by building sustainable relationships, managing through
influence and negotiation, and seeking to understand motives, roles and
responsibilities.

Boundary spanning organization create strategic alliances, joint working

arrangements, networks, partnerships and many other forms of collaboration
across organizational boundaries.

Boundary spanning roles are essential for businesses to obtain necessary information from other
organizations. In this lesson, we will discuss how boundary spanning roles are critical for smaller
companies.

Boundary Spanning Roles

Do you have a small business and don't have as many technological resources as a large company?
Utilizing boundary spanning roles will allow your small business to flourish. It also helps large
companies become even more competitive.
Boundary spanning roles interact with individuals and groups outside the organization to obtain
valuable information to help the innovation process. Boundary spanning roles allow a company to
gain more innovation information from other businesses. It is useful to gain insight from other
organizations that you may not be aware of. Not just management is involved in boundary spanning;
all employees can get information from one or more companies and bring information back to their
business to help improve innovation.

Boundary Spanning Communication

Boundary spanning communication includes meeting with other companies for planning, informal
conversations, and written communication. It is important for the company to maintain
communication with different companies to help them gain the knowledge needed to develop an
innovative product. It is essential to communicate formally through meetings, but communication can
also be done through informal methods of communication. Using informal
communication methods such as emails or phone calls allow the managers to communicate the
information and still have the ability to concentrate on internal and external issues that may occur.

Importance of Working Together

Boundary spanning gives a company the ability to grow by gaining knowledge from external forces.
Boundary spanning helps reduce costs and allows companies to share information. It is necessary
for a smaller organization to be more open to gaining information from their outside environment
because they do not have the same resources as larger companies. Large companies have the
money to invest more in infrastructure, technology, and research. Sometimes large corporations
utilize boundary spanning to gain even more money or competitive advantage. Smaller companies
may have to join with other companies to have access to more resources.
Companies can reduce their boundaries by creating a partnership with another company. It is helpful
sometimes for companies to merge to gain a more strategic advantage over companies. Merging is
when two or more companies come together to become one company. Sometimes companies will
join to create more innovative technology by generating more profit, learning their former
competitor's strategies, and to have the ability to take on more market share. Big companies will buy
out their competition, so they have a more competitive advantage and can gain more market share.
Another boundary spanning technique is utilizing a joint venture. A joint venture is when two or
more companies come together to develop a project that may be too complex for one company to
complete. Joining forces with other companies allows synergy to be created between the two
organizations. Synergy is when two or more companies come together to produce something better
than they would separately. Joining forces allow both companies to create a unique product and pull
their resources together. A joint venture allows two or more companies to share resources and
create a strong product.

Examples
A small retail company called Jake's Jackets will create a joint venture with an advertising agency to
help their business grow. Jake's may not have the funds to build a large advertising campaign or the
knowledge of advertising, so by joining with an advertising agency they can achieve more efficient
brand awareness. It works out for both companies because Jake's Jackets will have a company with
extensive knowledge of marketing take control of their marketing campaign, and the advertising
agency will receive profit from creating marketing campaigns for Jake's Jackets.