The Hidden Work of Handovers in Cross-Functional Service Delivery - A Boundary Work Perspective

Sammanfattning

This study investigates the employee experience and handling the tensions which emerge inrelation to roles and responsibilities in recurring cross-functional handovers in a multinationalenterprise software firm. Four empirical themes emerged from reflexive thematic analysis. First,it was found that tensions at handover points are created by misaligned expectations amongfunctional groups, where each group has its unique professional logic and readiness criteria, whatthey consider 'finished work'. Second, contested boundaries and unclear ownership indicated thatformal handover completion does not necessarily result in shared understandings of responsibility,with employees having to negotiate and repair gaps in ownership in practice. Third, it was seenthat dependency and bottlenecks in cross-functional work proved to be a cause of heightenedtensions as limited visibility and incomplete information at one interface will hold up the work atnext. Fourth, negotiations of responsibility and accountability indicated that employees activelymanage these tensions as they negotiate shared responsibility agreements, formal accountabilitydelineation, reparation after failure and informal workarounds. The results, combined, indicate thatresponsibility is not only formally allocated at handover points, but is also actively generated inthe ongoing interactional work of the employees as they cross functional boundaries. The studyadds to the literature on boundary work by showing how commonly occurring handovers are aplace where tacit boundaries of responsibility, ownership and willingness to take the baton aremade visible and have to be actively managed in practice.