TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose This paper aims to argue the beneficial effects of communities of practices for organizations. More specifically, given their intrinsic features, communities of practices support individuals and organizations in developing and diffusing the organizational culture, in making sense and guiding individual and collective actions, in defining identities and finally in coping with change and transitions.Design/methodology/approach Moving from a constructionist view of organizations, the paper reported the lessons learnt through literature about communities of practices, reviewing the most recent empirical evidences on the topic.Findings Boundary objects and boundary interactions are the concrete tools that allow individuals to exchange knowledge and to develop practices, thus becoming a community. This exchange of skills and expertise concretely shapes the practices that give sense to individual and organizational actions. Nonetheless, organizations and communities are open spaces constantly in interaction, both inside and outside the organizational borders. Thus, through contamination, namely, through the encounter with different actors and contexts, practices could be expanded and reformulated as long as they might suit to specific demands.Originality/value The paper argued that communities of practices in times of change could become a space for learning and development as long as they allow people to redefine mental models and practices and thus to make sense and to cope with a new cultural scenario.
VL  - 30
IS  - 2
SN  - 1477-7282
DO  - 10.1108/DLO-07-2015-0065
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/DLO-07-2015-0065
AU  - Impedovo Maria Antonietta
AU  - Manuti Amelia
PY  - 2016
Y1  - 2016/01/01
TI  - Boundary objects as connectors between communities of practices in the organizational context
T2  - Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 7
EP  - 10
Y2  - 2024/04/24
ER  -