Organization and management scholars have long advocated that efficient use of information is critical for firms to compete successfully in the modern marketplace. This study examines whether the use of managerial cross-unit involvement in an organization enhances managers’ propensity to use useful information provided by a functionally related unit in the organization. Senior line managers in a major global bank participated in our study in which they provided information related to their information processing and assessments of the usefulness of corporate audit information. We analyse the effect of line managers’ prior involvement with Corporate Audit using Throughput Modeling. This model allows us to understand how line managers’ cross-unit involvement influenced the way they process information received from Corporate Audit. Our results show that managers’ cross-unit involvement positively influences their assessment of information from Corporate Audit in a way that influences their propensity to use information from that unit. The results indicate that cross-unit involvement is more than an effective means of transmitting information — it can also be used as a means of building boundary-spanning capabilities in managers.
Albrecht, T.L. ( 1979). The role of communication in perceptions of organizational climate. In D. Nimmo (Ed.), Communication yearbook 3 (pp. 343-357). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
2.
Adams, J.S. ( 1976). The structure and dynamics of behavior in organizational boundary roles. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 1175-1199). New York: Rand McNally.
3.
Aldrich, H., & Herker, D. ( 1976). Boundary spanning roles and organization structure. Academy of Management Review, 2, 217-230.
4.
Allison, P.D., Krauze, T.K., & Long, J.S. ( 1982). Cumulative advantage and inequality in science. American Sociological Review, 47, 615-625.
5.
At-Twaijri, M.I.A. & Montanari, J.R. ( 1987). The impact of context and choice on boundary-spanning processes: An empirical extension. Human Relations, 40(12), 783-798.
6.
Bentler, P., Bonett, M., & Douglas, G. ( 1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 8, 588-606.
7.
Birkinshaw, J., Nobel, R., & Ridderstrale, J. (2002). Knowledge as a contingency variable: Do the characteristics of knowledge predict organizations’ structure? Organization Science13(3), 274-289.
8.
Bresenman, H., Birkenshaw, J., & Nobel, R. ( 1999). Knowledge transfers in international acquisitions. Journal of International Business Studies, 30(3), 439-462.
9.
Briers, M., & Chua, W.F. ( 2001). The role of actor-networks and boundary objects in management accounting change: A field study of an implementation of activity-based costing . Accounting, Organizations and Society, 26(3), 237-269.
10.
Brody, R.G., & Lowe, D.J. ( 2000). The new role of the internal auditor: Implications for internal auditor objectivity. International Journal of Auditing , 4(2), 169-176.
11.
Burns, T., & Stalker, G. ( 1961). The management of innovation. London : Tavistock Press.
12.
Burton, R.M., & Obel, B. ( 1984). Modeling and experimentation. Amsterdam : North-Holland.
13.
Cable, D.M., & Murray, B. ( 1999). Tournaments versus sponsored mobility as determinants of job search success. Academy of Management Journal, 42(4), 439-449.
14.
Casson, M. ( 1997). Information and organization. Oxford : Oxford University Press.
15.
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy ( CIPFA) (1979).
16.
Culbertson, A., & Rodgers, W. ( 1997). Improving managerial effectiveness in the workplace: The case of sexual harassment of Navy women. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 1953-1971.
17.
Daft, R.L. ( 1992). Organization theory and design, 3rd edn. St Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.
18.
Daft, R.L., & Lengel, R.H. ( 1984). Information richness: A new approach to manager information processing and organization design. In B. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
19.
Daft, R.L., & Lengel, R.H. ( 1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management Science, 32(5), 554-571.
20.
Daft, R., & Macintosh, N.B. (1981). A tentative exploration into the amount of equivocality of information processing in organizational work units. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, 207-224.
21.
Dailey, R.C. ( 1979). Group task and personality correlates of boundary-spanning activities. Human Relations, 12(4), 273-285.
22.
Donaldson, L. (Ed.) (1995). Contingency theory. Dartmouth: Aldershot.
23.
Duncan, M. ( 1972). Characteristics of organizational environments. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17, 312-327.
24.
Engelhoff, W.G. ( 1982). Strategy and structure in multinational corporations: An information processing approach. Administrative Science Quarterly, 27(3), 435-458.
25.
Eciia (2005). European Confederation of Institutes of Internal Auditing.
Flesher, D.L., & Zanzig, J.S. ( 2000). Management accountants express a desire for change in the functioning of internal auditing. Managerial Auditing Journal, 15(7), 331-337.
28.
Friedman, R., & Podolny, J. ( 1992). Differentiation of boundary spanning roles: Labor negotiations and implications of role conflict. Administration Science Quarterly, 37, 28-47.
29.
Galbraith, J.R. ( 1974). Organization design: An information processing view. Interfaces, 4, 28-36.
30.
Galbraith, J.R. ( 1977). Organizational design. Reading, MA : Addison-Wesley.
31.
Galbraith, J.R. ( 1995). Designing organizations. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.
32.
Galloway, D. ( 1995). Internal a: A guide for the new auditor. Altamonte Springs, FL: The institute of Internal Auditors .
33.
Gawyer, L. ( 1988) The practice of modern auditing. Altamonte Springs, FL: The Institute of Internal Auditors.
34.
Grandori, A. ( 2001). Organization and economic behaviour. London: Routledge.
35.
Griffiths, P. ( 1999). Understanding the expectations of finance directors towards internal audit and its future. Managerial Auditing Journal , 14(9), 489-496.
36.
Hogarth, R.M. ( 1989). Judgment and choice, 2nd edn. New York: Wiley.
37.
Huber, G.P. ( 1990). A theory of the effects of advances in information technologies on organizational design, intelligence, and decision making. Academy of Management Review, 15(1), 47-71.
38.
Institute of Internal Auditing (1947). Statement of responsibilities of the internal auditors.
39.
James, L.R., Mulaik, S.A., & Brett, J.M. ( 2006). A tale of two methods. Organizational Research Method, 9, 233-244.
40.
Joreskog, K.G., & Sorbom, D. ( 1993). New features in LISREL 8. Chicago : Scientific Software.
41.
Katz, R., & Kahn, D. ( 1978). The social psychology of organizations, 2nd edn. New York; John Wiley.
42.
Keller R.T., Szilagyi, A.D., & Holland, W.E. ( 1976). Boundary spanning activity and employee reactions: An empirical study. Human Relations, 29, 699-710.
43.
Kahn, R.L., Wolfe, D.M., Quinn, R.P., Snoek, J.D., & Rosenthal, R.A. (1964). Occupational stress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. New York: Wiley.
44.
Knight, K., & McDaniel, R. ( 1979). Organization: An information system perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publ. Co.
45.
Lawrence, P.R., & Lorsch, J.W. ( 1967). Organization and environment: Managing differentiation and integration. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
46.
Leifer, R., & Delbecq, A. ( 1987) Organizational/environmental interchange. Academy of Management Review, 3(1), 40-50.
47.
Levina, N., & Vaast, E. ( 2005). The emergence of boundary spanning competence in practice: Implications for implementation and use of information systems. MIS Quarterly, 29(2), 335-363.
48.
Lord, M., & Ranft, A.L. ( 2000). Organizational learning about new international markets: Exploring the internal transfer of local market knowledge. Journal of International Business Studies, 31, 573-589.
49.
Lucas, L.M. ( 2005). The impact of trust and reputation on the transfer of best practices. Journal of Knowledge Management, 9(4), 87-101.
50.
Lysonski, S., Singer, A. & Wilemon, D. ( 1988). Coping with environmental uncertainty and boundary spanning in the product manager’s role. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 3, 5-16.
51.
Mathews, C., Cooper, B.J., & Leung, P. ( 1994). CEOs’ perceptions of internal audit in Australia . Internal Auditing, 10(4), 61-64.
Miles, R.H., & Perreault, W. ( 1976). Organizational role conflict: Its antecedents and consequences . Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 17, 19-44.
54.
Mintzberg, H. ( 1979). The structuring of organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
55.
Mintzberg, H. ( 1983). Structures in fives. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
56.
Montgomery, K. & Oliver, A.L. ( 2007). A fresh look at how professions take shape: Dual-directed networking dynamics and social boundaries. Organization Studies , 28, 661-687.
57.
Nonaka, I. ( 1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation . Organization Science, 5(1), 14-37.
Page, M., & Spira, L.F. ( 2004). After box-ticking … now what?Internal Auditing and Business Risk, 28(11), 33-34.
60.
Perrow, C. ( 1965). Hospitals: Technology, structure, and goals. In J. March (ed.), Handbook of Organizations (pp. 910-971). Chicago: Rand McNally.
61.
Randall, R. ( 1973). Influence of environmental support and policy Space on organizational behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly , 18, 236-248.
62.
Reynolds, E., & Johnson, J.D. ( 1982). Liaison emergence: Relating theoretical perspectives . Academy of Management Review, 7(4), 551-559.
63.
Richter, A.W., West, M.A., Van Dick, R., & Dawson, J.F. ( 2006). Boundary spanners’ identification, intergroup contact, and effective intergroup relations. Academy of Management Journal, 49(6), 1252-1260.
64.
Rodgers, W. ( 1991). How do loan officers make their decisions about credit risks? A study of parallel distributed processing (PDP). Journal of Economic Psychology, 12, 243-265.
65.
Rodgers, W. ( 1997). Throughput modeling: Financial information used by decision makers. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press .
66.
Rodgers, W. ( 1999). The influences of conflicting information on novices’ and loan Officers’ action. Journal of Economic Psychology , 20, 123-145.
67.
Rodgers, W. ( 2006). Process thinking: Six pathways to successful decision making. New York: iUniverse.
68.
Rodgers, W., & Housel, T.J. ( 1987). The effects of information and cognitive processes on decision making. Accounting and Business Research, 18, 67-74.
69.
Rodgers, W., & Housel, T.J. ( 2004). The effects of environmental risk information on auditors’ decisions about prospective financial statements. European Accounting Review, 13, 523-540.
70.
Rosenkopf, L., & Nerkar, A. ( 2001). Beyond local search: Boundary-spanning, exploration, and impact in the optical disk industry. Strategic Management Journal, 22(4), 287-306.
71.
Sarens, G., & DeBeelde, I. ( 2006). Internal auditors’ perception about their role in risk management: A comparison between US and Belgian companies. Managerial Auditing Journal, 21(1), 63-80.
72.
Schreiman, D.B., & Johnson, J.A. ( 1975). A model of cognitive complexity and network role. Paper presented atthe International Communication Association , Chicago.
73.
Schwab, R., Ungson, J., & Brown, W. ( 1985). Redefining the boundary spanning-environment relationship . Journal of Management, 11(1), 75-86.
74.
Singh, J., Verbeke, W., & Rhoad, G.K. ( 1996). Do organizational practices matter in role stress processes? A study of direct and moderating effects for marketing-oriented boundary spanners . Journal of Marketing, 60/July, 69-86.
75.
Snadowsky, A. ( 1972). Communication network research: An examination of controversies . Human Relations, 25, 283-306.
76.
Spira, L.F., & Page, M. ( 2003). Risk management: The reinvention of internal control and the changing role of internal audit. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 16(4), 640-661.
77.
Staciokas, R., & Rupsys, R. ( 2005). Application of internal audit in enterprise risk management . Engineering Economics, 2(42), 20-24.
78.
Stamper, C., & Johlke, M.C. ( 2003). The impact of perceived organizational support on the relationship between boundary spanner roles, stress and work outcomes. Journal of Management, 29, 569-590.
79.
Thompson, J.D. ( 1967). Organizations in action. New York : McGraw-Hill.
80.
Thompson, L., Gentner, D., & Loewenstein, J. (2000). Avoiding missed opportunities in managerial life: Analogical training more powerful than individual case training? Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes , 82, 60-75.
81.
Turner, R.H. ( 1960). Sponsored and contest mobility and the school system . American Sociological Review, 25, 855-867.
82.
Tushman, M. ( 1978). Technical communication in R&D l: The impact of project work characteristics. Academy of Management Journal, 21, 624-645.
83.
Tushman, M. ( 1979). Impacts of perceived environmental variability on patterns of work related communication. Academy of Management Journal , 22, 482-500.
84.
Tushman, M., & Nadler, D. ( 1978). Information processing as an integrating concept in organizational design. Academy of Management Review, 3, 613-623.
85.
Tushman, M., & Scalan, T. ( 1981). Boundary spanning individuals: Their role in information transfer and their antecedents. Academy of Management Journal , 24(2), 289-305.
86.
Van de Ven, A., Delbecq, A., & Koening, R. ( 1976). Determinants of co-ordination modes within organizations / American Sociological Review, 41, 322-338.
87.
Von Hippel, E. ( 1998). Economics of product development by users: The impact of ‘sticky’ local information’. Management Science, 44(5), 629-644.
88.
Weick, K.E. ( 1979). The social psychology of organizing. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
89.
Zajonc, R.B., & Wolf, D.M. ( 1966). Cognitive consequences of a oerson’s position in a formal organization. Human Relations, 19, 139-150.
