Article | Journal of Organizational Behavior | August 2011

From the Outside In: The Negative Spillover Effects of Boundary Spanners' Relations with Members of Other Organizations

by Lakshmi Ramarajan, Katerina Bezrukova, Karen A. Jehn and Martin Euwema

Abstract

Contrary to much boundary spanning research, we examined the negative consequences of boundary spanning contact in multi-organizational contexts. Results from a sample of 833 Dutch peacekeepers show that employees' boundary spanning contact with members of other organizations was associated with reports of negative relationships with external parties (e.g., work-specific problems, culture-specific problems). These negative relationships also had a spillover effect such that they mediated the effect of boundary spanning contact on boundary spanners' negative attitudes toward their own jobs and organization (e.g., job attractiveness and confidence in the organization).

Keywords: inter-organizational contact; Boundary Spanning; peacekeeping; Relationships; Jobs and Positions; Organizations; Attitudes;

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Citation:

Ramarajan, Lakshmi, Katerina Bezrukova, Karen A. Jehn, and Martin Euwema. "From the Outside In: The Negative Spillover Effects of Boundary Spanners' Relations with Members of Other Organizations." Journal of Organizational Behavior 32, no. 6 (August 2011): 886–905.

About the Author

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Lakshmi Ramarajan
Anna Spangler Nelson and Thomas C. Nelson Associate Professor of Business Administration
Organizational Behavior

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