Relational Coordination
Guidelines for Theory, Measurement and Analysis
Chapter 1: What is Relational Coordination?
Relational coordination is an emerging theory for understanding the relational dynamics of coordinating work. Other theorists have argued for the importance of relationships for coordinating work, based on the argument that coordination is the management of task interdependence and is therefore a fundamentally relational process.i According to the theory of relational coordination, coordination that occurs through frequent, high quality communication supported by relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect enables organizations to better achieve their desired outcomes. Specifically, "relational coordination is a mutually reinforcing process of interaction between communication and relationships carried out for the purpose of task integration." ii According to this theory, three dimensions of relationships are integral to the process of coordination: shared knowledge, shared goals and mutual respect. Developed and tested in the context of air travel, surgical care and long term care, relational coordination theory is expected to generalize to work processes in which multiple providers are engaged in carrying out highly interdependent tasks under conditions of uncertainty and time constraints.iii EXHIBIT 1 illustrates the multiple providers engaged in a patient care process.
In the contexts where it has been explored, relational coordination appears to have a significant positive impact on key measures of performance, including both quality and efficiency. For example, EXHIBIT 2 and EXHIBIT 3 illustrate the impact of relational coordination on performance in the context of air travel, and in the context of surgical care. Performance effects of relational coordination will be explored later, both the theoretical reasons underlying these performance effects, and the use of regression analyses to assess these performance effects.
EXHIBIT 1: Patient Care - A Coordination Challenge
EXHIBIT 2: Impact of Relational Coordination on Airline Performance 1
1 Each circle denotes one of the nine sites included in the study. Relational coordination, coordination carried out through relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect, is measured as the strength of cross-functional ties on a five-point scale, based on an employee survey. Airline performance is an index of quality: customer complaints, mishandled bags and late arrivals, as well as efficiency: gate time per departure and staff time per passenger. Each performance measure was adjusted for differences in product characteristics, and combined into a single performance index.
EXHIBIT 3: Impact of Relational Coordination on Surgical Performance 2
2 Each circle denotes one of the nine hospitals included in the study. Relational coordination, coordination carried out through relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect, is measured as the strength of cross-functional ties on a five-point scale, based on an employee survey. Surgical performance is an index of quality: patient satisfaction, post-operative freedom from pain and post-operative functioning, as well as efficiency: number of inpatient days in the hospital. Each performance measure was adjusted for differences in patient and hospital characteristics, and combined into a single performance index.
The dimensions of relational coordination were discovered through inductive field research, and have been validated through several subsequent studies. There are seven dimensions, including frequent, timely, accurate, problem-solving communication, and relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect. EXHIBIT 4 shows the basic survey items that have been used to measure relational coordination.
EXHIBIT 4: Items for Measuring Relational Coordination
There is a the broad array of work that has contributed over the years to the study of relational coordination. This work spans across multiple literatures including social psychology, information technology, strategy, marketing, and health services research, but thus far is best represented in the organizational theory literature. The downloadable paper Relational Coordination: Guidelines for Theory, Measurement and Analysis includes an exhibit in reverse chronological order of samples of work contributing to the study of Relational Coordination.
In this manual, I first summarize the theory of relational coordination - the communication and relationship dimensions that comprise it, the organizational practices that support its development, its impact on performance, and the conditions that are expected to strengthen its impact on performance. I then review the methods and survey instruments for measuring relational coordination, providing several alternative instruments for measuring it in different work settings, either at the level of an overall work process or at the level of individual clients. Finally, I describe how to analyze relational coordination and how it works in a particular organization or industry, for example exploring its weak and strong links, how it influences critical aspects of performance, and what are the organizational practices that support or undermine its development.