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

Abstract

This study investigates the employee experience and handling the tensions which emerge in relation to roles and responsibilities in recurring cross-functional handovers in a multinational enterprise software firm. Four empirical themes emerged from reflexive thematic analysis. First, it was found that tensions at handover points are created by misaligned expectations among functional groups, where each group has its unique professional logic and readiness criteria, what they consider 'finished work'. Second, contested boundaries and unclear ownership indicated that formal 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 seen that dependency and bottlenecks in cross-functional work proved to be a cause of heightened tensions as limited visibility and incomplete information at one interface will hold up the work at next. Fourth, negotiations of responsibility and accountability indicated that employees actively manage these tensions as they negotiate shared responsibility agreements, formal accountability delineation, reparation after failure and informal workarounds. The results, combined, indicate that responsibility is not only formally allocated at handover points, but is also actively generated in the ongoing interactional work of the employees as they cross functional boundaries. The study adds to the literature on boundary work by showing how commonly occurring handovers are a place where tacit boundaries of responsibility, ownership and willingness to take the baton are made visible and have to be actively managed in practice.