How Knowledge Flows Through Social Networks and Communities of Practice in a Healthcare Project

2016 ◽  
pp. 107-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Tsouri ◽  
Kleopatra Alamantariotou ◽  
Ourania Pediaditaki ◽  
Vikentia Harizopoulou ◽  
Georgia Kontosorou
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Flows

Virtual Communities of Practice as a Support for Knowledge Sharing in Social Networks

2012 ◽  
pp. 374-387
Author(s):  
Yóris Linhares de Souza ◽  
Fernanda Farinelli ◽  
George Leal Jamil ◽  
Maria Celeste Reis Lobo de Vasconcelos ◽  
Gutenberg Marques Dias
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Professional Relationship ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fast Pace ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Virtual Communities Of Practice

Knowledge as a result of people’s interaction is an essential factor for organizations facing actual business complexity. Social networks, whose creation and usage have been facilitated from the development of information and communication technologies, improved the conditions for interactive and collaborative answers at a very fast pace. In this sense, virtual communities of practice appear as an important way to share knowledge among groups of people joined by common interests, such as the search for solutions for problems, development of competences, professional relationship upgrades, growth of productivity, and general working quality. However, some barriers have emerged to the social network members, such as lack of trust, real incentives, and time to dedicate in order to contribute in these communities. In this chapter, aiming to evaluate such scenarios, a multiple case study methodology was conducted, starting from a literature review of main concepts, giving support for a final assessment of cases to provide better understanding and identification of the main benefits and barriers for the participation and collaboration in these new platforms. As a result of the present study, these reflections could lead to a better comprehension of the application of the social networks structured over virtual communities of practice in the business environment.

Identifying Knowledge Flows in Communities of Practice

2011 ◽  
pp. 210-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar M. Rodriguez-Elias ◽  
Ana I. Martinez-Garcia ◽  
Aurora Vizcaino ◽  
Jesús Favela ◽  
Mario Piattini
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Software Maintenance ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
The People ◽  
Common Domain

Knowledge sharing is a collective process where the people involved collaborate with others in order to learn from them (Huysman & de Wit, 2000). This kind of collaboration creates groups of people with common interest called communities of practice where each member contributes knowledge about a common domain (Wenger, 1998). Communities of practice enable its members to benefit from the knowledge of each other (Fontaine & Millen, 2004). To achieve this, different techniques and technologies can be used, such as shared documentation, groupware tools, lessons learned systems, and so forth. Therefore, to increase and improve knowledge sharing in communities of practice, it is important to study the mechanisms used by a particular community and understand how the knowledge flows through its members (Guizzardi, Perini & Dignum, 2003). This article presents a qualitative approach for studying and understanding how knowledge flows in communities of practice within organizations. The goal is to provide a methodological guide for obtaining useful information for the development of knowledge management tools for supporting knowledge flows in these communities. The content of the article is organized as follows. First the importance of supporting knowledge flows in communities of practice is highlighted. Then, a qualitative methodology for identifying knowledge flows in communities of practice is described, followed by some examples from a study conducted in the field of software maintenance. Finally, we present our conclusions of this work and future research.

Knowledge Brokers in Overlapping Online Communities of Practice

2010 ◽  
pp. 77-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Cranefield ◽  
Pak Yoong
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Knowledge Broker ◽  
System Level ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Knowledge Brokers ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learners

This chapter argues that leaders need to better understand the roles played by informal knowledge brokers in connecting overlapping online communities of practice (CoPs). It illustrates how distributed individuals playing a key knowledge broker role – the Connector-leader – helped to drive transformative professional change. The research context was a professional development programme for New Zealand schools that promoted a new, student-centric teaching approach. The research project explored how online CoPs facilitate professional knowledge transfer, focusing on how new knowledge is embedded in interpretive frameworks and practices. Connector-leaders spanned boundaries in the online community realm and had a strong online presence. As professional learners, they were strongly outward facing, identifying primarily as members of a distributed online CoP. As leaders, they were inward facing, focusing largely on the knowledge needs of local organisations and CoPs. This study extends previous research into the boundary spanner and knowledge broker, introduces new ideas about the nature of boundaries in CoPs, and promotes a system-level view of knowledge flows, emphasising the importance of both visible and invisible dimensions of online knowledge brokering.

Virtual Communities of Practice

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Pender Greene
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Virtual Communities Of Practice

Sociologists and social workers have long been invested in understanding the role of communities in shaping identities and influencing behavior; however, the study of virtual communities is still new despite the dramatic ways in which online social networks have replaced traditional, geographically bound conceptions of community. The present article briefly reviews some of the early theories of community that have influenced practically all scholars studying computer-mediated virtual communities. The focus then shifts toward an analysis of early, important theorists focusing on virtual communities. The article concludes by examining contemporary research and practices utilizing virtual communities in social work, with a particular emphasis on ways to integrate virtual communities into professional practice.

Virtual Communities of Practice as a Support for Knowledge Sharing in Social Networks

2014 ◽  
pp. 350-363
Author(s):  
Yóris Linhares de Souza ◽  
Fernanda Farinelli ◽  
George Leal Jamil ◽  
Maria Celeste Reis Lobo de Vasconcelos ◽  
Gutenberg Marques Dias
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Professional Relationship ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fast Pace ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Virtual Communities Of Practice

Knowledge as a result of people's interaction is an essential factor for organizations facing actual business complexity. Social networks, whose creation and usage have been facilitated from the development of information and communication technologies, improved the conditions for interactive and collaborative answers at a very fast pace. In this sense, virtual communities of practice appear as an important way to share knowledge among groups of people joined by common interests, such as the search for solutions for problems, development of competences, professional relationship upgrades, growth of productivity, and general working quality. However, some barriers have emerged to the social network members, such as lack of trust, real incentives, and time to dedicate in order to contribute in these communities. In this chapter, aiming to evaluate such scenarios, a multiple case study methodology was conducted, starting from a literature review of main concepts, giving support for a final assessment of cases to provide better understanding and identification of the main benefits and barriers for the participation and collaboration in these new platforms. As a result of the present study, these reflections could lead to a better comprehension of the application of the social networks structured over virtual communities of practice in the business environment.

scholarly journals Identification of Enterprise Social Network (ESN) Group Archetypes in ESN Analytics

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Riemer ◽  
Laurence Lock Lee ◽  
Cai Kjaer ◽  
Annika Haeffner
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Clustering Techniques ◽  
Group Type ◽  
Enterprise Social Networks ◽  
Enterprise Social Network

With the proliferation of Enterprise Social Networks (ESN), the measurement of ESN activity becomes increasingly relevant. The emerging field of ESN analytics aims to develop metrics and models to measure and classify user activity to support organisational goals and outcomes. In this paper we focus on a neglected area of ESN analytics, the classification of activity in ESN groups. We engage in explorative research to identify a set of metrics that divides an ESN group sample into distinct types. We collaborate with Sydney-based service provider SWOOP Analytics who provided access to actual ESN meta data describing activity in 350 groups across three organisations. By employing clustering techniques, we derive a set of four group types: broadcast streams, information forums, communities of practice and project teams. We collect and reflect on feedback from ESN champions in fourteen organisations. For ESN analytics research we contribute a set of metrics and group types. For practice we envision a method that enables group managers to compare aspirations for their groups to embody a certain group type, with actual activity patterns.

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