For example, Allen and Cohen (1969) focus on those individuals who provide the other members of the organization with information, the so-called internal communication stars. Although it is assumed that these individuals are strongly connected to external sources of information it is not necessarily the case.
Similarly, external communication stars may not always export information internally (Von Hippel, 1976). Boundary-spanners (or gatekeepers, as sometimes known), on the other hand, perform a number of functions for organizations, including exchanging information with the environment, reducing uncertainty, information processing, representing the organization and translating specialized knowledge between insiders and outsiders (Aldrich and Herker, 1977; Booz and Lewis, 1997; Tushman, 1977).