What will be the likely effects of these differences in expectations, values, priorities, and work processes on how the partners work together? What may be the effects of the critical perceptions they have of one another on their ability to work as teams and reach agreement on how to proceed with issues? How might these differences and difficulties be overcome? Team working across different organizations is necessary for many large projects, yet it is often difficult to achieve the common focus and good communication needed for good teamwork. Over several years, Edmondson and Reynolds (2016)

studied how a small ICT company, LivingPlanIT, sought to build an innovative, sustainable high tech city – a ‘smart city’. To do so, it needed to work in partnership with organizations from several other sectors, in what Edmondson and Reynolds call ‘Big teaming’ – teamwork that crosses industry cultures.

The proposed site for the new city was in northern Portugal. The founders of LivingPlanIT

– an Englishman and an Australian – envisaged a city that would one day house 100,000 to 130,000 residents. There would be homes, offices, schools, research and development laboratories, university campuses, retail outlets, entertainment centres, hotels and restaurants. High tech buildings and advanced transport systems would be pioneered.

Designs for future smart cities would be developed, trialled and showcased. Land was purchased, and LivingPlanIT began to grow.