Coordinating Mechanisms for Multiteam Systems: A Case Study from the Petroleum Industry

Abstract

Purpose

To present a case study of coordination mechanisms employed by a multiteam system (MTS) charged in an international oil and gas company.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative method with longitudinal observation and interviewing.

Findings

The MTS, and particularly its coordination mechanism of a regular collaboration meeting, provided multiple benefits, such as access to diverse competences, capabilities for solving problems crossing team boundaries, and opportunities for developing relationships between the different teams involved. There were also observed challenges: a lack of shared understanding between the participants concerning the purpose of the main collaboration session of the MTS, different levels of insight into each other’s areas of competence, information sharing, shifting team membership, multiteam membership, time pressure, and technology-mediated communication.

Originality/value

Providing an illustration of the MTS concept in a real organizational setting and the role of a regular collaboration meeting as a coordination mechanism for the MTS.

Citation

Larsen, S., Nystad, E. and Taylor, C. (2014), "Coordinating Mechanisms for Multiteam Systems: A Case Study from the Petroleum Industry", Pushing the Boundaries: Multiteam Systems in Research and Practice (Research on Managing Groups and Teams, Vol. 16), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 115-133. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1534-085620140000016005