Unpacking the Structure of Coordination Mechanisms and the Role of Relational Coordination in an Era of Digitally Mediated Work Processes

Relational coordination suggests that high-quality relationships improve coordination. Yet as the landscape of work shifts toward digitization of coordination processes, organizations increasingly rely on digitally mediated structured coordination to accomplish work, reducing opportunities for personal interactions. In this article we explore the interplay between employees’ work relationships and differently structured coordination mechanisms to theorize about the role of relational coordination in coordination that is becoming increasingly structured owing to digitization. Specifically, we identify four categories of coordination mechanisms by leveraging two distinct components of a coordination mechanism—actor selection and content delivery—and recognizing that either component can be structured or unstructured. This granular categorization of coordination mechanisms allows us to delineate three causal routes by which relational coordination adds value to coordination enactment: informing actor selecti...