A Multilevel Investigation of Antecedents and Consequences of Team Member Boundary-Spanning Behavior

We adopt a multilevel approach to a paradox that arises when research findings on the performance benefits of team boundary spanning are juxtaposed with earlier work demonstrating the role overload of individuals who span boundaries. Results revealed that individual and team-level factors predicted member boundary-spanning behavior, which increases individual role overload, which then negatively impacts team viability. However, when we aggregated to the team level of analysis, higher levels of boundary spanning resulted in team members' experiencing significantly less role overload. Implications for addressing the boundary-spanning paradox and developing a multilevel theory of team boundary spanning are discussed.