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1 – 10 of over 3000This paper examines events management as a Community of Practice (CoP) and to demonstrate that knowledge management and practice within events operate as a CoP. The paper adds to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines events management as a Community of Practice (CoP) and to demonstrate that knowledge management and practice within events operate as a CoP. The paper adds to the events management literature which is currently superficial in considering events conceptually as a CoP.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretive and inductive approach was adopted for the research which incorporated quantitative and qualitative methods undertaken in a United Kingdom setting. Twenty-five in-depth semi-structured interviews with event professionals were conducted and this was complemented by a survey of 215 event professionals.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that within the evolving events industry, as well as reflected in aspects of the academic literature, events can be depicted as a “domain” which connects event professionals to a “community”. The themes emerging revealed that there are modes of working, shared values and practices, a shared identity and a desire to work as a wider collective in order to maintain and enhance knowledge and practice, which are in keeping with a CoP framework.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides new insight on an under-researched area concerning knowledge and practice development within events management.
Originality/value
This is a novel study that considers how the emergent field of events management should be considered as a CoP. It addresses a gap in the literature pertaining to knowledge and practice creation within events management from a CoP perspective.
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Thibaut Bardon and Stefano Borzillo
The purpose of this paper is to address the question of how two seemingly opposite principles – managerial control and autonomy – simultaneously affect, positively and negatively…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the question of how two seemingly opposite principles – managerial control and autonomy – simultaneously affect, positively and negatively, managers’ motivation to develop together innovative practices in a community of practice (the Custoprog community).
Design/methodology/approach
A single-case study was conducted in the Custoprog community, during which 22 semi-directive interviews with Custoprog members were conducted over a period of eight months. Members are all EuroAirport middle managers of EuroAirport (a Western Europe international airport).
Findings
The findings highlight how Custoprog members experience the conflicting situation of enjoying some autonomy (granted by top management), while being subjected to some degree of managerial control. Our results focus on how these two opposite principles (control and autonomy) simultaneously (positively as well as negatively) affect the motivation of Custoprog members to develop innovative practices together.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited by the scope of the sample. Further research conducted in multiple communities of practice (CoPs) may therefore be useful for comparability purposes, and to generalize our results.
Practical implications
We provide a set of practical recommendations to steer CoPs effectively, by achieving a delicate balance between control and autonomy.
Originality/value
Our investigation contributes to understanding the strategic benefits of using CoPs as an informal means of developing and diffusing customer-related innovative practices.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical framework that explains the roles and viability of both cooperation and competition as they emerge in communities of practice…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical framework that explains the roles and viability of both cooperation and competition as they emerge in communities of practice. Although the usefulness of cooperation in communities of practice is well-understood, few studies have considered the role of internal competition, and those that have generally only explored cases in which antagonistic behavior led to the community’s collapse.
Design/methodology/approach
A contingency theory of communities of practice is developed based on the manifestations of members’ participation.
Findings
This theory demonstrates the root causes of fracturing and also provides a foundation for studying communities of practice that have previously defied explanation.
Research limitations/implications
This manuscript explains the potential role and limitations of internal competition in communities of practice, as well as the emergence of subgroups based on differing preferences for cooperation and/or competition. Future research should examine the manifestation and ramifications of such individual differences between community members.
Practical implications
Practitioners can use this theoretical framework to assess communities of practice that they oversee, diagnose potential pitfalls and take corrective action to mitigate potentially toxic influences or inject additional motivating forces that would sustain the community.
Originality/value
This theoretical framework diverges from previous assumptions that internal competition is necessarily toxic for communities of practice, showing the value that it may offer in some contexts.
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Patricia Wolf, Sebastian Späth and Stefan Haefliger
Communities of practice (CoPs) have been found to support knowledge creation by enabling knowledge sharing among experts in firms. However, some perform better than others. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Communities of practice (CoPs) have been found to support knowledge creation by enabling knowledge sharing among experts in firms. However, some perform better than others. This paper seeks to explore what incentivizes employees to share knowledge in intra‐firm CoPs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a longitudinal case study in a large automotive company that introduced 82 cross‐functional CoPs into its engineering department. Using extensive qualitative data, two sets of communities: best and worst performing were analyzed.
Findings
It was found that perceived benefits and the employees' willingness to invest individual efforts into community work are stronger in better performing communities. Members of the better performing CoPs drew most benefits from participating in organizational decision processes, as they were able to influence the agenda and create relevant standards. The patterns observed relate to the efforts, benefits, and barriers of community work.
Research limitations/implications
The single case study design limits the generalizability of the results beyond the company studied. Furthermore, some of the data employed were perceptional and relied partly on self‐reporting of the community members.
Practical implications
The paper argues that management support for CoPs should aim at influencing the individual cost‐benefit calculus of community members. Respecting and implementing results from the communities' work is likely to provide the very basis for innovations to emerge at all.
Originality/value
Other than extant studies on CoP performance that focus on company benefits from deploying CoPs, this paper offers a new perspective by exploring the benefits and incentives available to community members.
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Sonya L. Jakubec, John Parboosingh and Barbara Colvin
Scholarship about communities of practice (COP) is uncovering evidence that interactivity between community members contributes to improvement in practice. Leadership and…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholarship about communities of practice (COP) is uncovering evidence that interactivity between community members contributes to improvement in practice. Leadership and facilitation are crucial elements of successful COP implementation. The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative COP facilitator ' s course and report on the experiences of participants in the first course.
Design/methodology/approach
In response to this need and emerging evidence, an on-line COP facilitator ' s course was developed and implemented in Alberta, Canada, in 2011. This course included a home-based COP practicum, introductory face-to-face session, an on-line discussion board moderated by faculty and on-line learning modules. Evaluation of the course was formalized in a qualitative study incorporating content analysis of postings, semi-structured interviews of successful participants and narrative responses to questions in a post course survey.
Findings
A total of 15 of 22 participants perceived they acquired basic knowledge about community facilitation by completing the self-learning modules and assignments. Many did not establish home-based COP and only partially participated in the interactive components of the course. Six participants successfully completed the course by establishing home-based COP and actively participating in the social and interactive components of the course. They perceived they met course objectives and greatly benefited from participation in the course, in particular when they pushed themselves to facilitate in new and different ways, and when they were actively engaged with their home-based COP where they could practice and receive feedback.
Research limitations/implications
While the main reasons why participants dropped out or failed to complete all course components were reported, the experiences and perceptions of six participants who successfully completed all course components form the major part of the evaluation of the course and hence introduce bias. A more in depth analysis of why learners are reluctant to engage in participatory learning could be the focus of further studies.
Practical implications
The following key recommendations emerged in the study alongside recommendations for further study of best practices in supporting COP facilitation. First, a formal interview before enrollment into the COP facilitator ' s course is recommended to reinforce the comprehensiveness, time commitment and the practical applications intended within the course. Second, methods of “aggressive facilitation” with skilled COP facilitators can best model facilitation to those involved in the course. Third, supporting course participants to trial out a diversity of community facilitation skills in the safety of the course is crucial to success.
Originality/value
The collaboration, networking and interactivity of interdisciplinary health care workers is of tremendous consequence to health outcomes and a vital concern to practitioners and administrators. Little is currently understood of the leadership and facilitation of the COP models and these discoveries lend a timely contribution to the field.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate to which extent the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) can be applied to online communities and to explore how organizations can…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate to which extent the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) can be applied to online communities and to explore how organizations can better utilize online social structures for their knowledge management practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was used to examine an online community with the practice‐and‐identity framework that characterizes conventional CoPs. Qualitative data analysis was conducted primarily on 7,853 messages downloaded from the online community during a six week period.
Findings
The results showed how an online community could manifest the practice and identity characteristics of conventional CoPs as community members actively engaged in their shared practice and identity development while pursuing a joint enterprise. Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted in a single Chinese online community on traveling, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Practical implications
This study suggested how organizations can nurture online CoPs. In addition, a hierarchical model was proposed to help organizations identify the appropriate online social structure for their knowledge management purposes. Originality/value – This study empirically verified that CoPs can emerge from online communities and demonstrated that the concept of CoPs can be used to guide knowledge sharing and knowledge creation in online environments.
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Helena Torres-Purroy and Sònia Mas-Alcolea
Since its conception, the community of practice (CoP) theory has become a popular framework in a plethora of disciplines and settings. In the field of higher education, this…
Abstract
Since its conception, the community of practice (CoP) theory has become a popular framework in a plethora of disciplines and settings. In the field of higher education, this versatile social theory of learning and identity that is compatible with theories of language and discourse has been used for the exploration of a variety of topics such as quality assurance, language socialisation in study abroad, medical student workplace learning and the learning of science. This theoretical model offers a framework based on collectives attached by their practice and mutual relations, which suits a priori some institutionally recognised clusters within higher education, such as research groups (RGs). These groupings, composed of pre- and post-doctoral researchers, form a domain of sustained relations and interactions through which learning may occur, but the extent to which the RG constitutes a CoP remains uncertain. This chapter discusses the suitability of the CoP model for the study of RGs in the light of ethnographic data gathered from two RGs.
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Kirti Ruikar, Lauri Koskela and Martin Sexton
At the heart of knowledge management (KM) are the people – an organisation's important knowledge asset. Although this is widely acknowledged, businesses seldom understand this…
Abstract
Purpose
At the heart of knowledge management (KM) are the people – an organisation's important knowledge asset. Although this is widely acknowledged, businesses seldom understand this axiom in terms of the communities through which individuals develop and share the capacity to create and use knowledge. It is the collective learning that takes place within the social systems, i.e. communities of practice (CoP) that are of particular significance to an organisation from a KM perspective. This paper aims to review, critique, and raise some pertinent questions on the role of CoPs; and with the help of case studies shed light on the “goings‐on” in construction practices.
Design/methodology/approach
After critically reviewing the literature on CoPs and querying some underlying assertions, this research investigates how these issues are addressed in practice. A case study approach is adopted. Three organisations operating in the construction sector are interviewed for the purpose of this paper.
Findings
Case study findings highlight the potential challenges and benefits of CoPs to a construction organisation, the role they play in generating and delivering value to the organisation and their contribution towards the collective organisational intelligence. From the findings, it is clear that the question is not whether communities exist within organisations, but how they deliver value to the organisation. From an organisational perspective, the key challenge is to provide an environment that is conducive to developing and nurturing such communities as opposed to merely creating them.
Practical implications
Challenges and benefits demonstrated through the case studies should be taken in context. The findings are not intended to be prescriptive in nature, but are intentionally descriptive to provide contextual data that allow readers to draw their own inferences in the context of their organisations. They should be applied taking into account an organisation's unique characteristics and differentiators, the dynamics of the environment in which it operates and the culture it harbours within.
Originality/value
Investigating the role of CoPs in the context of case study construction organisations forms the prime focus of this paper.
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This research aims to uncover three forms of communities of practice (CoPs), based on a set of six governance mechanisms. The focus is on the specific question of how…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to uncover three forms of communities of practice (CoPs), based on a set of six governance mechanisms. The focus is on the specific question of how organizations combine different governance mechanisms to balance autonomy and control in the management (steering) of CoPs. This paper is based on a study of 16 CoPs in nine multinational organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used is a multiple case study conducted in 16 CoPs within nine multinational organizations. Ninety-two informants were interviewed over a period of four years.
Findings
Data revealed three distinct governance patterns for CoPs (three forms of CoPs), each associated with different knowledge processes and representing a different path toward a balance between autonomy and control. Expanding communities focus on improving existing products by recombining bodies of knowledge supported by a governance pattern that achieves balance by making moderate use of a wide selection of governance mechanisms. Leveraging communities are dedicated to improving operational efficiency by transferring best practices supported by a governance pattern that combines strong technical authority (leadership) with low disciplinary authority. Probing communities focus on generating new practices by exploring new knowledge domains supported by a governance pattern that replaces direct managerial control with indirect nurturing of the community’s routines. Probing communities also establish linkages beyond the community’s boundaries to enable knowledge to be shared with individuals throughout (and outside) the organization (boundary-spanning).
Research limitations/implications
The size and scope of the sample limit the generalizability of the findings. Although the study involved a variety of different organizations, it concentrated merely on large and multinational organizations. Thus, larger-scale empirical work is needed to statistically evaluate the relationships that are described in the findings, and to help specify the conditions according to which these relationships may vary.
Practical implications
This study should help managers understand which form of CoP is most appropriate to meet a particular knowledge objective. If the objective is the creation of new knowledge via the recombination of bodies of existing knowledge, expanding communities are appropriate. Leveraging communities are better suited for transfers of best practices within the organization. Finally, probing communities should be used to explore new knowledge domains.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the understanding of CoP dynamics by revealing different governance patterns deployed to balance autonomy and control in CoPs. It also contributes to organization learning by revealing different learning processes that constitute the three forms of CoPs.
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Allan Macpherson, Christa Kiersch and Elena Antonacopoulou
The purpose of this paper is to explore the premise that organizationally defined communities of practice can be a valuable strategic learning tool for management.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the premise that organizationally defined communities of practice can be a valuable strategic learning tool for management.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a quantitative study in a single organization. The authors analyzed data from 1,082 employees using hierarchical (multi-level) linear modeling.
Findings
Management can support learning and influence engagement and identification by defining communities of practice and establishing goals, but this is not always successful. Engagement may be a short-term phenomenon, dependent significantly on the type of practice or project in which community members are allowed or decide, to participate. Identification, on the other hand, may need practices that support longer-term individual development aims allowing and supporting the achievement of personal ambition or competence.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies of organizationally defined communities of practice could use established scales to measure leadership, engagement and identification.
Practical implications
When implementing this type of organizationally defined community of practice, attention to the types of practices or projects to which the employees can contribute seems to be most important.
Originality/value
The authors show that: the dynamics within communities of practice (CoP) designed by top management teams have an impact on CoP members’ identification and engagement; organizationally defined CoP may be part of a broader landscape of professional practice (LoP); engagement, objectives and practices, and not only identification and knowledgeability, are key to the dynamics of CoP and LoP; senior management’s leadership role in setting up successful CoP is equivocal.
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