Digital Boundary Objects as Negotiation Facilitators: Spanning Boundaries in Virtual Engineering Project Networks

Advances in electronic communication tools have enabled collaborative engineering work to be conducted in virtual project networks that utilize “digital boundary objects” to exchange complex design knowledge. However, little is known about whether and how digital boundary objects facilitate negotiations in virtual settings that feature real-time communication. This article addresses this gap by exploring the role of digital boundary objects in negotiating complex design knowledge in a three-dimensional (3-D) virtual workspace. The authors found that digital boundary objects facilitate negotiations through a three-stage process of structuring negotiation space, structuring knowledge in the structured negotiation space, and framing combinations of structured knowledge.

[1]  Rachael Luck,et al.  Using objects to coordinate design activity in interaction , 2010 .

[2]  J. Overhage,et al.  Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences , 2001, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[3]  Susan Leigh Star,et al.  Institutional Ecology, `Translations' and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907-39 , 1989 .

[4]  Paul R. Carlile,et al.  A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development , 2002, Organ. Sci..

[5]  Eivor Oborn,et al.  Boundary object use in cross-cultural software development teams , 2010 .

[6]  Carrie Sturts Dossick,et al.  A CASE STUDY OF THE FAILURE OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATION TO CROSS KNOWLEDGE BOUNDARIES IN VIRTUAL CONSTRUCTION , 2010 .

[7]  Hennie Brugman,et al.  Annotating Multi-media/Multi-modal Resources with ELAN , 2004, LREC.

[8]  Lisa D. McNair,et al.  Activity Theory, Speech Acts, and the ‘‘Doctrine of Infelicity’’: Connecting Language and Technology in Globally Networked Learning Environments , 2010 .

[9]  Kalle Lyytinen,et al.  Wakes of Innovation in Project Networks: The Case of Digital 3-D Representations in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction , 2007, Organ. Sci..

[10]  Jacky Swan,et al.  Understanding the Role of Objects in Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration , 2012, Organ. Sci..

[11]  Beth A. Bechky,et al.  10 Coordination in Organizations: An Integrative Perspective , 2009 .

[12]  John E. Taylor,et al.  Exploring Negotiation through Boundary Objects in Global Design Project Networks , 2012 .

[13]  Palitha R. Kuruppuarachchi.  Virtual Team Concepts in Projects: A Case Study , 2009 .

[14]  Maxine Robertson,et al.  Boundary Objects Reconsidered: from Bridges and Anchors to Barricades and Mazes , 2009 .

[15]  Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa,et al.  Communication and Trust in Global Virtual Teams , 1999, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[16]  J. Whyte,et al.  Visual representations as ‘artefacts of knowing’ , 2007 .

[17]  John Paul Macduffie.  12 HRM and Distributed Work , 2008 .

[18]  Pamela J. Hinds,et al.  Putting the Global in Global Work: An Intercultural Lens on the Practice of Cross-National Collaboration , 2011 .

[19]  Paul Chinowsky,et al.  Virtual Teams: Guide to Successful Implementation , 2002 .

[20]  A. Strauss,et al.  The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research aldine de gruyter , 1968 .

[21]  Kaj U. Koskinen,et al.  Role of boundary objects in negotiations of project contracts , 2009 .

[22]  Paul R. Carlile,et al.  The incompatibility of knowledge regimes: consequences of the material world for cross-domain work , 2006, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[23]  Vittal S. Anantatmula,et al.  Managing Global Projects: A Structured Approach for Better Performance , 2010 .

[24]  Kalle Lyytinen,et al.  Dynamics of inter‐organizational knowledge creation and information technology use across object worlds: the case of an innovative construction project , 2010 .

[25]  Mike Bresnen.  Keeping it real? Constituting partnering through boundary objects , 2010 .

[26]  A. Salter,et al.  Postcards from the Edge: Local Communities, Global Programs and Boundary Objects , 2004 .

[27]  Morten T. Hansen,et al.  The Search-Transfer Problem: The Role of Weak Ties in Sharing Knowledge across Organization Subunits , 1999 .

[28]  Elaine K. Yakura,et al.  Charting Time: Timelines as Temporal Boundary Objects , 2002 .

[29]  Riitta Smeds,et al.  Knowledge Transformation in Project Networks: A Speech Act Level Cross-Boundary Analysis , 2011 .

[30]  J. Swan,et al.  Implementing change in construction project organizations: exploring the interplay between structure and agency , 2005 .

[31]  William C. Barley,et al.  Human Communication Research Issn 0360-3989 Engineering Objects for Collaboration: Strategies of Ambiguity and Clarity at Knowledge Boundaries , 2022 .

[32]  J. Whyte,et al.  Knowledge Practices in Design: The Role of Visual Representations as `Epistemic Objects' , 2009 .

[33]  Paul R. Carlile,et al.  Transferring, Translating, and Transforming: An Integrative Framework for Managing Knowledge Across Boundaries , 2004, Organ. Sci..

[34]  Beth A. Bechky.  Sharing Meaning Across Occupational Communities: The Transformation of Understanding on a Production Floor , 2003, Organ. Sci..

[35]  M. Feldman,et al.  The Role of the Public Manager in Inclusion: Creating Communities of Participation , 2007 .

[36]  Alexander Styhre,et al.  Managing knowledge in platforms: boundary objects and stocks and flows of knowledge , 2010 .

[37]  Peter R. Monge,et al.  Introduction to the Special Issue: Communication Processes for Virtual Organizations , 1999 .

[38]  S. L. Star,et al.  This is Not a Boundary Object: Reflections on the Origin of a Concept , 2010 .

[39]  J. Hildrum.  WHEN IS FREQUENT FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT NECESSARY IN INNOVATION? A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TWO DISTRIBUTED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS , 2007 .

[40]  David M. Gann,et al.  "In Case of Fire, Please Use the Elevator": Simulation Technology and Organization in Fire Engineering , 2007, Organ. Sci..

[41]  Jerry Julian,et al.  How Project Management Office Leaders Facilitate Cross-Project Learning and Continuous Improvement , 2008 .

[42]  Jennifer Whyte,et al.  Coordination and control in project‐based work: digital objects and infrastructures for delivery , 2010 .

[43]  Oswald Jones,et al.  Object-mediated Learning and Strategic Renewal in a Mature Organization , 2008 .

[44]  D. G. Pruitt,et al.  NEGOTIATION AND MEDIATION , 1992 .

[45]  Wanda Curlee.  Modern Virtual Project Management: The Effects of a Centralized and Decentralized Project Management Office , 2008 .

[46]  Raymond E. Levitt,et al.  Innovation Alignment and Project Network Dynamics: An Integrative Model for Change , 2007 .

[47]  W. Ashby,et al.  Requisite Variety and Its Implications for the Control of Complex Systems , 1991 .

[48]  Low Sui Pheng,et al.  Cross-cultural project management for international construction in China , 2000 .