Haaze, Yorick (2022) Bridging the gap between the project and its environment: An explorative study on boundary spanning within Dutch infrastructure projects. Master thesis.
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Yorick Haaze_S3240975_Master Thesis_Boundary Spanning_Infrastructure_2022 (1).pdf Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Infrastructure project organisations stumble upon a social boundary between the project organisation and the project environment, which often leads to plans that are considered as unsatisfactory in within the project environment. Infrastructure planning literature and policy, however, tends to improve the link between the project and its environment by shifting this boundary, instead of spanning it. Although the concept of boundary spanning has shown great potential integrating different worlds and achieving more inclusive solutions, the concept is barely explored within an infrastructure context. This research explored boundary spanning between the project and its environment, by analysing the boundary spanning activities (relational activities, information exchange, coordination/negotiation, mediation/facilitating, guarding/isolating) that are employed in relation to the conditions (Environmental characteristics, Composition of the boundary spanning role, organisational support & feedback, and individual determinants) that facilitate boundary spanning activity. Based on the qualitative case study data, collected from two Dutch infrastructure projects (ViA15 & Blankenburgverbinding), two major findings have been made. Firstly, a higher degree of environmental stress (political uncertainty, diversity/complexity, interdependency) leads on the one hand to more guarding and isolating behaviour due to decreased motivation, but because of interdependency, the organisation is also forced to coordinate/negotiate with the stakeholders. This finding is in conflict with the findings in other boundary spanning literature, which suggest a higher degree of boundary spanning activity due to these conditions. Secondly, the personal network of a boundary spanner (project director) at the ministry in combination with personal conditions like motivation and experience had a big impact on the boundary spanning activity within the project, characterised by a high degree of information exchange/knowledge sharing, relational activities, and mediation and facilitating.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Degree programme: | Environmental & Infrastructure Planning |
| Supervisor: | Busscher, T. |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Aug 2022 07:29 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Aug 2022 07:29 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3947 |
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