Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

296 DEBORAH ANCONA AND DAVID CALDWELL
laboratory groups that do not have external links – the notion that groups require effective
interaction with external systems has its roots in the writings of early social psychologists
(cf. Homans, 1950 ; Lewin, 1951 ). This general idea was expanded throughout the 1970s
and early 1980s by open systems theorists (Katz and Kahn, 1978 ), researchers studying
boundary spanning behavior (Roberts and O ’ Reilly, 1979 ; Tushman, 1977 ), and writings
on autonomous work groups (cf. Cummings, 1978 ). In addition, those studying innovation
have written extensively about the transfer of technical information across boundaries
(Allen, 1971 , 1984 ; Aldrich and Herker, 1977 ; Katz and Tushman, 1979 ). In general,
those results showed that in R and D teams with uncertain tasks, boundary - spanning
activity was related to performance. More recently, similar results have been found for
teams engaged in other types of development projects (cf. Scott, 1997 ).
We also assert that it is not just the frequency of external communication that is important
but rather the content of that communication. Frequent communication with outsiders
may be necessary for effective boundary management but it alone is not suffi cient. The
content and quality of interactions with outsiders will determine whether the team is able
to tap into the power structure of the firm, understand and manage how the team ’ s outputs
fit into the broader workflow of the organization, and gain the information and the
expertise from outside the team ’s boundaries that are necessary for success. In a study of
45 product development teams, we found that team members engaged in different activities
in dealing with outside groups and it was the extent to which team members engaged
in these activities that was related to team performance. We found that effectiveness in
product development was most likely when team members engaged in two sets of activities:
(1) those that were designed to promote the team and secure resources and (2) those
that led to tighter links with other groups linked through the workflow. The frequency of
communication with outsiders as such was unrelated to the performance of the teams.
Interestingly, we also found that performance was negatively related to the frequency with
which groups engaged in broad scanning of the environment, particularly when these
activities were done late in the project (Ancona and Caldwell, 1992 ). Once the product
idea was developed, the more successful teams cut down on broad, general communication
and increased the number of exchanges aimed at acquiring specifi c information
or coordinating distinct tasks. Less successful teams continued to seek out general information
about markets and technologies.
MECHANISMS FOR MEETING EXTERNAL DEMANDS
How does one compose a team to meet external demands? Three aspects of team composition
seem particularly relevant: (1) the background characteristics of individual team
members, particularly the functional area to which the individuals are assigned; (2) the
connections of team members to relevant networks inside and outside the organization;
and (3) the configuration and nature of team members ’ assignments on the team.
Although background characteristics have been studied extensively in prior research, we
examine their effects on external linkages as well as internal dynamics. Network connections
are the ties members have to individuals outside the group. Such ties represent the
potential resources team members can access. The third component, team confi guration,
represents the level of involvement individual members have with the team.