Business and Professional Communication Quarterly

This experiment tested the impacts of demographic congruence between synthetic humanlike spokesperson avatars and learners. Among 437 U.S. working adults, congruence did not affect knowledge transfer, and effects on perceived effectiveness and belonging were confined to one subgroup: Heterosexual White men rated incongruent avatars as more effective yet reported lower belonging with avatars of the same race but different gender. No other subgroup showed significant effects. Behavioral avatar choices mirrored this pattern. These findings identify a precise intersectional boundary condition, suggesting that effectiveness ratings alone may mask inclusion gaps. Implications for corporate training and business communication pedagogy are discussed.

Purpose: This study offers an in-depth review of the body of research articles on the topic of boundary spanning and the dynamic nature of different actors to provide a more comprehensive knowledge on different boundary spanning activities and their effects on performance, flexibility, and resilience in educational institutions. Design/methodology/approach: To address the limited research on boundary-spanning functions in education, this study employed a two-round systematic literature review (SLR). The first round, which included an analysis of 338 research studies, sought to identify boundary-spanning functions and their activities. Using data from 39 studies, the second round sought to examine the boundary-spanning function and the critical role that information transfer plays in enabling boundary spanning in education. Findings: This review of literature led researchers to draw the main variables/strategies that facilitate boundary spanning in education (leadership and instructional strategies; collaboration and networking; training and development; teamwork; and revised pedagogical approaches). Also, the review highlighted the importance of knowledge transfer in facilitating boundary-spanning functions. Originality/value: Researchers, practitioners, and decision makers looking to improve boundary-spanning activities by utilizing networks and knowledge transfer might use this systematic review as a source. It also provides various strategies of how boundary spanners and leaders can support and facilitate the function of boundary spanning in educational institutions.