Operating in perpetual motion? Coping with the dark side of global boundary spanning

cb
Thumbnail Image
Files
Date
2026-07-30
Authors
Conroy, Kieran M.
McDonnell, Anthony
Jooss, Stefan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Published Version
10.1002/gsj.70029
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
Research Summary: This paper explores how individuals experience and cope with the demands of global boundary spanning in multinational enterprises (MNEs). We foreground temporary colocation as a modality through which mobile global boundary spanners repeatedly traverse multiple boundaries, triggering intense demands with adverse consequences. Extending the micro-level perspective on boundary spanning, we show that active coping behaviors enable mobile global boundary spanners to generate strategic value for the MNE through network coordination, knowledge mobilization, and contextual adjustment. Our typology demonstrates how structural and spatial variability in global boundary spanning roles shapes the dynamic interplay between demands, adverse effects, and coping behaviors. Contributing to the dark side of global boundary spanning, we illustrate how global orchestrator roles challenge individuals to operate in a state of perpetual motion. Managerial Summary: Managers in multinational enterprises (MNEs) are under increasing pressure to be more flexible, mobile, and strategic as they span organizational and geographical boundaries across a dispersed global network. Our study explores how mobile global boundary spanners who traverse and negotiate multiple boundaries cope with intense demands and unanticipated negative consequences. Our findings caution global firms against overburdening these strategically valuable boundary spanners, as doing so may constrain network relations, impair knowledge flows, and hamper local learning. We offer a typology that managers and organizations can use to assess the adverse effects of these demands and understand how MNEs can harness the integrative scope and adaptive breadth of these strategically flexible individuals.
Description
Keywords
Boundary spanning , Coping , Global strategy , Integration-adaptation , Multinationals , Temporary colocation , [CUBS]
Citation
Conroy, K M, McDonnell, A & Jooss, S 2026, 'Operating in perpetual motion? Coping with the dark side of global boundary spanning', Global Strategy Journal, pp. 1-35. https://doi.org/10.1002/gsj.70029
Link to publisher’s version
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10468/19201
Collections
Cork University Business School
Copyright
© 2026, the Author(s). Global Strategy Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Strategic Management Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution andreproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.