Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti

Theoretical background
2.4.1 Introduction to organizational boundaries
An organization’s boundary is one of its basic properties. Boundaries define
and limit organizations (Ashforth, Kreiner, & Fugate, 2000), separate them
from one another (ibid.), and protect organizations from environmental
stresses (Leifer & Delbecq, 1978; Thompson, 1967). Organizational
boundaries have been conceptualized in multiple ways. While some authors
emphasize how boundaries limit separate organizations from each other
and protect organizations from external disturbances, others view
boundaries as domains or frontiers where the organization interacts with its
environment and acquires required resources (Yan & Louis, 1999). The
choice of definition depends on the degree of autonomy of action the
organization is seen to have concerning its environment (Aldrich & Herker,
1977) and how open the organization is perceived to be towards external
influences (Scott, 2003). Typically, a boundary is viewed as the limit,
demarcation or interface between an organization and its environment (e.g.
Leifer & Delbecq, 1978).
Although research on organizational boundaries has mostly focused on
the firm as a unit of analysis and studied inter-organizational boundaries,
intra-organizational boundaries are also of high importance (Balogun et al.,
2005; Yan & Louis, 1999). Within an organization, boundaries can be
identified between functional units, other work units, different tasks, teams
or informal groups (Lynn, 2005; Yan & Louis, 1999). The boundaries of
temporary organizations have started to attract attention in recent research
(Crawford & Pollack, 2004; Ratcheva, 2009; Turner & Müller, 2003). This
study focuses on the boundaries of temporary change programs.
There are several reasons for why organizational boundaries exist, and
various types of boundaries can be distinguished. First of all, the division of
labor, specialized tasks and focused goals of organizational entities generate
task boundaries (Hirschhorn & Gilmore, 1992; Miller & Rice, 1986). In a
change program context, the program’s task is to create a change in the
parent organization, whereas the parent organization’s task is to maintain
stability and operate routine processes. The different task orientations
result in a boundary between the temporary organization and its context.
Secondly, the division of authority (both formal and informal) promotes
authority boundaries (Hirschhorn & Gilmore, 1992). In the program
context, the program’s organizing structure includes the division of
authority, defined and constrained by the authority structure of the
surrounding parent organization. Thirdly, physical or spatial boundaries
(Hernes, 2004; Scott, 2003) are manifested by either physical structures or
formal rules and regulations that regulate human interaction. In the
temporary organization context, project and program teams may be
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