۱- Introduction

۲- Theoretical background and propositions

۳- Discussion

References

Abstract

Building upon organizational design and boundary spanning and multilevel literatures, we propose a theoretical framework that extends previous work on the drivers of multiteam system (MTS) coordination and performance. Our proposal integrates aspects of functional process interdependence and different integration mechanisms used within MTSs to better elucidate how different coordination processes emerge. The framework exposes potential countervailing or confluent effects of coordination processes on performance and, thereby, reconciles seemingly incongruent findings regarding the effect of different approaches to coordination on MTSs performance. In addition, our framework helps managers consider the multilevel nature of MTS coordination processes in ways that assist them in selecting an approach to effectively address the coordination challenges inherent in these complex systems.

Introduction

The leading organ transplant organization in the world, the Spanish National Transplant Organization, transplanted 2552 kidneys, 285 lungs and 249 hearts in 2013. This complex, life-saving and hope-giving task is only possible because of an extremely well-coordinated system of highly specialized teams. From a team of psychologists and grief counselors who talk to a heart-broken family to authorize a donation, to an intensive care unit (ICU) team keeping the vital organs viable after brain death of the donor, to a surgery team that extracts the donated organs, to a transplant coordinating unit arranging teams to transport the organs and coordinating the recipient surgery and anesthesia teams to receive the organs and complete the transplant. These teams have goals of their own to achieve, yet as highly interdependent members of an integrated system of work, their ultimate success is defined by a common superordinate goal – the successfully transplant of an organ. Achieving this life-saving goal requires effective integration and coordination of activities both within and across team boundaries. Highly interdependent teams of specialists, each with their own goals, yet sharing a superordinate goal (or set of goals), is the quintessential description of a multiteam system (Mathieu, Marks, & Zaccaro, 2001). Multiteam systems (MTSs) are enacted to address complex and urgent problems across a broad range of economic sectors. Environmental disasters, security crises, agricultural crop developments, cleaner energy, more sustainable mobility, key military operations, scientific discoveries, medical operations, and space exploration are examples of productive activities managed by teams of interdependent teams. Consequently, understanding the drivers of MTS performance and learning to manage them effectively continues to be a matter of great interest to scholars and practitioners alike (de Vries, Hollenbeck, Davison, Walter, & van der Vegt, 2016).