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This paper aims to explore the relationship between the contemporary forms of manufacturing rationalization and the reproduction of communities of practice (CoPs) centred on tasks and craft. Building on critical literature highlighting the tensions between CoPs and rationalization, this paper aims to develop a nuanced account of how CoPs are reproduced in the context of rationalization.

A qualitative case study of a CoP involved in the production of automotive components was conducted. Following a change in ownership, the company was instructed to rationalize production according to the principles of lean production. Data were collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews.

The CoP of the case study reinterpreted, resisted and redefined the lean production practices according to the established norms and values. In collusion with local management, workers protected the integrity of the community by engaging in hypocritical reporting. While lower-level managers buffered the rationalization pressures, workers would “get the work done” without further interference.

The critical research approach may be applied to a wide range of cases in which informal or professional work organization collides with change programmes driven by management. Future research is encouraged to investigate more closely how CoPs gain access to formal and informal power by enrolling lower-level managers in their joint enterprise and world view.

Managers should be aware that attempts to rationalize community-based work forms may lead to dysfunctional patterns of organizational decoupling.

This study is one of the first to empirically examine the relationship between CoPs and manufacturing rationalization.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how implementation of a management concept is interpreted by a team within a multinational company. The headquarter “rolls out” a standardized version of teamwork within a lean production system. The authors want to investigate what happens.

The paper is based on a case study approach in a single company with available data over a long period of time.

Instead of being a vehicle for involvement and responsibility through the increased visibility, the tools and techniques become a perceived control mechanism because of a lack of connection between norms and values and tools. Despite the initiating enthusiasm of manager stating that “we are now at day one of a new life”, the system is perceived as yet another management concept, and the tools implemented did not represent any meaningful improvement.

The paper is based on a single company, describing a particular phenomenon.

The paper highlights the importance of involvement when new concepts are transferred into a new social context.

The in-depth study of a team within a multinational corporation implementing a management concept is unusual. The main theoretical contribution is to combine conceptualization of both social context and management principles.