Boundary Spanners in Public Management and Governance

Cross-boundary workers are significant for public, non-profit and private organizations, particularly to stay relevant and enhance collaboration, innovation and performance. This book presents an interdisciplinary and systematic review on the state of the art on boundary spanners, a feature of public management and governance that needs more comprehensive and integrative understanding.

The authors analyse different theoretical perspectives on cross-boundary roles in the public sector. Chapters discuss key drivers and influential conditions, various types of boundary spanning activities and boundary spanners’ profiles, as well as their impact on job outcomes, collaboration, trust and organizational innovation. Using empirical illustrations and building on a broad range of literature, this book is a vital step in understanding inter-organizational performance and collaborative public management. It synthesizes knowledge from different disciplines and evaluates individual, organizational and environmental factors, the challenges facing collaborative projects and how to successfully facilitate cross-boundary work in the public sector.

Scholars and researchers in the field of public management will benefit from the integrated research framework provided in this innovative book. Management and public policy students who want to understand boundary spanners and inter-organizational collaboration will find this an excellent and much-needed overview of the topic.