This paper examines the nature of the dispersed and integrative practices (Schatzky, 1996) in collaborative work. We use Lean Production (LP) as the instance of collaborative work, and show that specific types of dispersed practices support LP integrative practices and are seen across cultural/national boundaries. Thus, practices that normally are assumed to function as dispersed practices, function instead, as part of the LP integrative practices. This raises issues for management control since our current conception of control systems does not comprehend dispersed practices as part of business activity.
We elaborate this concept by revealing situations where the nature of dispersed practices changes, and they become part of integrative practices. Dispersed practices are presumed to be stable, yet the introduction of collaborative consensus-based work is a provocation to this stability. The existence of a connection between integrative and dispersed practices is acknowledged in Schatzki (1996, 2001), however neither changes in the connection nor the impact of the connection are examined. We develop a discussion of the changes and the impact of this connection between specific integrated practices and dispersed practices. Prior research (Alpenberg and Scarbrough, 2016) revealed a set of practices connected to collaborative work in the LP context. This paper shows that the practices revealed by Alpenberg and Scarbrough (2016) are what are normally considered dispersed practices, yet we show that they have become fused with LP integrated practices (Schatzky, 1996). This insight supports the importance of the practice theory lens in study of organizations as well as suggesting practical avenues for development of LP operations.