From the outside in: The negative spillover effects of boundary spanners' relations with members of other organizations

• Published in: Journal of organizational behavior Vol. 32; no. 6; pp. 886 - 905
• Main Authors: Ramarajan, Lakshmi, Bezrukova, Katerina, Jehn, Karen A., Euwema, Martin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.08.2011; John Wiley & Sons; Wiley Periodicals Inc
• Subjects: Applied psychology; Armed conflict; Attractiveness; boundary spanning; Consequences; Cooperation; Cross cultural studies; Culture contact; Employee attitude; inter-organizational contact; Negative attitudes; Negative events; Nongovernmental organizations; Organizational behavior; Peace keeping; peacekeeping; Political attitudes; Professional relationships; Social psychology; Studies; Netherlands
• ISSN: 0894-3796; 1099-1379
• DOI: 10.1002/job.723

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 pf 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).