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Secretary ›› 2026, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (3): 53-61.

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Qinghuai and Organizational Boundary Reshaping:Why does Cross-Departmental Rescue Collaboration Succeed?

MENG Hua,ZHOU Jiao   

  • Online:2026-05-25 Published:2026-06-18

Abstract:

Taking the child protection mechanism for chunlei safety officers in City A as a case study,this paper explores why cross-sectoral rescue collaboration can be successful. The research finds that different types of boundary spanners form three types of qinghuai combinations during boundary interactions, and these different combinations lead to varied outcomes in the reshaping of organizational boundaries. Under the “strong-strong” qinghuai combination,organizations can achieve the reshaping of boundaries from service and functional boundaries to psychological boundaries. Under the “strong-weak” qinghuai combination,the reshaping of boundaries is mainly focused on service and functional boundaries. Under the“weak-weak” qinghuai combination,the reshaping of organizational boundaries is limited to service boundaries. Qinghuai can reshape organizational boundaries because the logic of trust and the logic of responsibility,both grounded in qinghuai,intertwine to influence the interactive actions of boundary spanners. The key to the success of cross-sectoral rescue collaboration lies in the participation of individuals with strong qinghuai from powerful organizations.

Key words: cross-departmental  collaboration, qinghuai  combinations, boundary  interaction, organizational boundary reshaping