Organizational boundary spanners — identifying competencies and gaps

Abstract

Many organizations are in the midst of a services transformation. Along with the ongoing need to provide differentiated products, firms are being asked to go to market with an increasing variety of customized service offerings. A key challenge in this new competitive environment is navigating through the complex dynamics of customer and stakeholder management from service definition through service delivery (Irons, 1994; Teboul, 2006). Success in this new services environment requires multi-talented individuals. They must be able to develop strong customer relationships and manage complex social networks, while also having a deep understanding of relevant service technologies and processes. These talented individuals are boundary spanners. Boundary spanners link their organizations with the outside world (Russ et al., 1998). An example of this boundary spanning role in high technology services is the customer-facing project manager. In this study we present the results of a set of interviews with such project managers. We compare and contrast our findings with general competencies identified in the project management literature, identify the differentiating competencies in this emerging and vital role, and make recommendations for closing the critical gaps.