Driving collaborative success across phases in public projects: the role of boundary spanning in fostering synergetic momentum
Shreya Anna Satheesh, Tim Busscher, Stefan Verweij, Manon Danielle Baartmans, Jos ArtsPurpose
Prior research has established positive effects of boundary-spanning activities on collaboration and project performance. However, there is limited research examining how boundary-spanning activities contribute to collaborative success across public project phases – i.e. how it enables maintaining synergetic momentum in projects. Synergetic momentum is defined as the impetus gained from the interaction between partners that contributes to collaborative success.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applied a qualitative in-depth case study approach into the “A24 Blankenburgverbinding” project in the Netherlands, with events as the unit of analysis. Data were collected via newspaper articles, project documents and via semi-structured interviews with nine key stakeholders from public and private organizations involved in the project.
Findings
The results demonstrate from practice that boundary spanners facilitate open communication and conflict resolution. Through boundary spanning, the managers can exchange information, have room for customization and establish an active stakeholder network, which is beneficial for collaborative success amidst project phase transitions.
Practical implications
This article outlines six critical success factors, including mutual trust, open communication and top management support, that are impacted by boundary-spanning activities of public managers. It also outlines best practices for maintaining relationships between different stakeholders throughout the planning and implementation phases of public projects.
Originality/value
This article examines the interorganizational collaboration from boundary-spanning perspective to explore how synergetic momentum was maintained across the temporal order of the planning and implementation phases of the project lifecycle.