抄録
This paper analyzes the negotiation of meaning at boundary crossings.
Many studies have shown how the concept of boundary crossings is used in
an interdisciplinary sense. In this paper， I focus on boundary crossings based
on activity theory and communities of practice.
In the existing literature， the negotiation of meaning is mainly placed in a
homogeneity context. However， this paper offers a perspective on the importance
of the negotiation of meaning at boundary crossings in a heterogeneity
context.
The review of the literature reveals that brokers in external communities
of practice can introduce external practices into internal communities
of practice through the reconciliation of decentralized selves. For brokers，
the experience of crossing boundaries promotes the cognition and conflict of
decentralized selves. The mechanism of reconciliation of decentralized selves
for brokers can be explained with dialogical self theory with polyphony.
Furthermore， the reconciliation of decentralized selves promotes brokers to
deliver the negotiation of meaning at boundary crossings in a heterogeneity
context.
