This meta-analytic review of power-sensitive boundary spanning research provides strong evidence that power enables, broadens and limits boundary spanning practices and outcomes. Boundary spanners use power bases to drive innovation and empower others to maintain cross-cultural collaboration, while altering unequal power relations that hinder learning and knowledge-sharing in organizations. The review further points to avenues for future research on power in boundary spanning processes: future boundary spanning studies would profit from strengthening a relational, social-constructivist understanding of power bases. This encompasses accounting for the power bases of all actors involved, expanding the notion of power bases to demographic diversity of gender, race or class, or showing how the relative importance of power bases is constructed within fields. Boundary spanning research would also benefit from expanding postcolonial and poststructuralist perspectives, which provide tools to detect subtle workings of power in boundary spanning processes. This may alter theoretical and practical implications, for example when boundary objects associated with transparency and freedom may be presented as limiting boundary spanners’ field of action.

中文翻译：

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跨界研究中的权力概念：回顾和研究议程

这种对权力敏感的跨界研究的元分析评论提供了强有力的证据，证明权力能够促进、扩大和限制跨界实践和结果。边界跨越者利用权力基础来推动创新并授权他人维持跨文化合作，同时改变阻碍组织学习和知识共享的不平等权力关系。该评论进一步指出了未来跨界过程中权力研究的途径：未来跨界研究将受益于加强对权力基础的关系性、社会建构主义的理解。这包括考虑所有参与者的权力基础，将权力基础的概念扩展到性别、种族或阶级的人口多样性，或展示权力基础的相对重要性如何在领域内构建。跨界研究也将受益于扩大后殖民和后结构主义的观点，这些观点提供了工具来检测跨界过程中权力的微妙运作。这可能会改变理论和实践意义，例如，当与透明度和自由相关的边界对象可能被视为限制边界扳手的行动领域时。