Michael Lissack
manifest differently in digital contexts. The fundamental psychological need to establish “mine” versus “yours” doesn’t disappear online—it transforms. Organizations that successfully navigate this territory paradox de- velop practices that acknowledge these underlying needs while preventing dysfunctional boundary creation. They create appropriate recognition systems that reduce the perceived need for defensive territoriality. They establish clear norms about information sharing that balance legitimate privacy concerns with collaborative imperatives. And they design digital environments that encourage appropriate porosity between territories while respecting necessary boundaries. Perhaps most importantly, they recognize that territorial dynamics are inevitable rather than pathological—natural expressions of human needs that require thoughtful management rather than elimination. The goal isn’t to create boundaryless organizations but to develop boundaries that appropriately balance protection and connection. TR ercaongsnp iatri oe nn taAntdt rPi bs yucthi oonl oSg iycsat el mS asf:eBt ya l a n c i n g Among the most powerful approaches to managing digital territories is the development of transparent attribution systems—frameworks that clearly acknowledge contribution while enabling collaboration. These systems recognize that territorial behavior often intensifies when people fear their contributions won’t be properly acknowledged. GitHub pioneered this approach in software development through its visible commit history and contribution graph. Every code change is permanently attributed to its author, creating a comprehensive record of who contributed what. This transparent attribution fundamentally trans- formed territorial dynamics in open-source development. When contribu- tors know their work will be permanently and publicly attributed to them, the perceived need to protect “their” code diminishes significantly. Similar approaches have emerged across disciplines. Google Docs’ version history creates transparent attribution for collaborative writing.
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