Sociotechnical Theory and Communities of Practice

Interorganizational Communication ◽

Sociotechnical Theory ◽

To Come ◽

The Individual ◽

Social Entities

Communities of practice (CoPs), by their nature, are social entities. Such communities may be large or small, geographically dispersed or located within a confined region. Essentially, communities of practice consist of members who chose to come together because they have a passionate dedication to sharing knowledge and a desire to develop their own and other’s capabilities (Wenger & Snyder, 2000). No matter what type of CoP (collocated or virtual; intra or interorganizational) communication is one of the prime desiderata. Thus, it is highly likely that technology of some form will be involved. For instance, a virtual community of practice may use e-mail or a more sophisticated groupware application to keep in touch. CoPs within a knowledge management environment will certainly have access to technology. To understand the workings of such communities requires a theory that enables us to deal at the levels of the individual, the group, and the larger world in which the community is embedded (Lave, 1988). Any such theory must be able to account for the role of technology within the community as well as its social aspects.

Virtual Communities of Practice

Ubiquitous Developments in Knowledge Management ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-954-0.ch003 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 32-51

Author(s):

Jens Gammelgaard

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Information Exchange ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Exchange Process ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Feedback Loops ◽

Virtual Communities Of Practice

This chapter investigates the phenomenon of virtual communities of practice, and proposes them to be efficient for individual’s knowledge retrieval, when they work in a geographically dispersed organization, such as a multinational corporation. The virtual community of practice is likely to reduce the contextual gaps that typically exist between senders and receivers of knowledge, as it includes the possibility of feedback loops in the information exchange process. However, the organization must provide a knowledge-sharing friendly culture, and an institutional protectionism, in order to establish the required level of trust, being the foundation for knowledge exchanges within the virtual community.

The Search for the 'Hidden' Virtual Communities of Practice

Virtual Community Practices and Social Interactive Media ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-340-1.ch003 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 42-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard Ribeiro ◽

Chris Kimble

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Community Of Practice ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Electronic Networks ◽

Seci Model ◽

Virtual Communities Of Practice ◽

Fully Functioning

This chapter examines the possibility of discovering a “hidden” (potential) Community of Practice (CoP) inside electronic networks, and then using this knowledge to nurture it into a fully functioning Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP). Starting from the standpoint of the need to manage knowledge and create innovation, the chapter discusses several issues related to this subject. It begins by examining Nonaka’s SECI model and his notion of Knowledge Transfer; the authors follow this by an investigation of the links between Communities of Practice (CoPs) and Knowledge Management; the chapter concludes by examining the relation between Nonaka’s Communities of Interaction and CoPs. Having established this the authors start their examination of the characteristics of “hidden” Communities of Practice. Following on from the previous discussion, they look at what is meant by “hidden” CoPs and what their value might be. They also look at the distinction between Distributed CoPs (DCoPs) and Virtual CoPs (VCoPs) and the issues raised when moving from ‘hidden’ CoPs to fully functioning VCoPs. The chapter concludes with some preliminary findings from a semi-structured interview conducted in the Higher Education Academy Psychology Network (UK). These findings are contrasted against the theory and some further proposals are made.

Knowledge Management Practices and the Focus on the Individual

International Journal of Knowledge Management ◽

10.4018/ijkm.2014010102 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 26-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Isabel Rechberg ◽

Jawad Syed

Keyword(s):

Information Technology ◽

Knowledge Management ◽

Communities Of Practice ◽

Human Resource ◽

Management Practices ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Organisational Culture ◽

Knowledge Management Practices ◽

The Individual

This paper reviews the current knowledge management (KM) practices to examine the attention (or lack thereof) paid to the individual in managing knowledge in organisations. It identifies and reviews four key practices of KM - i.e., information technology, organisational culture and structure, communities of practice, and human resource practices - to examine how knowledge is interpreted, processed and managed, and the role individuals play in such interpretations, processing and management. The review shows that existing KM practices may be improved through an increased focus on the role of individuals (an individual-centric approach) in designing and implementing KM in organisations.

Knowledge Management Practices and the Focus on the Individual

Business Intelligence ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-9562-7.ch076 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 1539-1556

Author(s):

Isabel Rechberg ◽

Jawad Syed

Keyword(s):

Information Technology ◽

Knowledge Management ◽

Communities Of Practice ◽

Human Resource ◽

Management Practices ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Organisational Culture ◽

Knowledge Management Practices ◽

The Individual

This chapter reviews the current knowledge management (KM) practices to examine the attention (or lack thereof) paid to the individual in managing knowledge in organisations. It identifies and reviews four key practices of KM - i.e., information technology, organisational culture and structure, communities of practice, and human resource practices - to examine how knowledge is interpreted, processed and managed, and the role individuals play in such interpretations, processing and management. The review shows that existing KM practices may be improved through an increased focus on the role of individuals (an individual-centric approach) in designing and implementing KM in organisations.

The Search for the ’Hidden’ Virtual Communities of Practice

Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-100-3.ch717 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 2395-2411

Author(s):

Richard Ribeiro ◽

Chris Kimble

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Community Of Practice ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Electronic Networks ◽

Seci Model ◽

Virtual Communities Of Practice ◽

Fully Functioning

This chapter examines the possibility of discovering a “hidden” (potential) Community of Practice (CoP) inside electronic networks, and then using this knowledge to nurture it into a fully functioning Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP). Starting from the standpoint of the need to manage knowledge and create innovation, the chapter discusses several issues related to this subject. It begins by examining Nonaka’s SECI model and his notion of Knowledge Transfer; the authors follow this by an investigation of the links between Communities of Practice (CoPs) and Knowledge Management; the chapter concludes by examining the relation between Nonaka’s Communities of Interaction and CoPs. Having established this the authors start their examination of the characteristics of “hidden” Communities of Practice. Following on from the previous discussion, they look at what is meant by “hidden” CoPs and what their value might be. They also look at the distinction between Distributed CoPs (DCoPs) and Virtual CoPs (VCoPs) and the issues raised when moving from ‘hidden’ CoPs to fully functioning VCoPs. The chapter concludes with some preliminary findings from a semi-structured interview conducted in the Higher Education Academy Psychology Network (UK). These findings are contrasted against the theory and some further proposals are made.

Virtual Communities of Practice

Connectivity and Knowledge Management in Virtual Organizations ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-070-7.ch019 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 339-355 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jens Gammelgaard

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Multinational Corporations ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Virtual Communication ◽

Physical Proximity ◽

Knowledge Transfers ◽

Virtual Communities Of Practice

In geographically dispersed organizations, like multinational corporations (MNCs), contextual gaps exist between senders and receivers of knowledge. Employee socialization resulting from physical proximity facilitates contextualization of the transferred knowledge. However, in MNCs most knowledge transfers take place through virtual communication media. We investigate the phenomenon of virtual communities of practice, and propose them to be efficient for individual’s knowledge retrieval as participation in such communities reduces the contextual gaps between senders and receivers of knowledge. However, the organization must provide a knowledge-sharing friendly culture, and an institutional protectionism, in order to establish the required level of swift trust within the virtual community.

Virtual Communities of Practice

Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-100-3.ch612 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 2068-2085

Author(s):

Jens Gammelgaard

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Multinational Corporations ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Virtual Communication ◽

Physical Proximity ◽

Knowledge Transfers ◽

Virtual Communities Of Practice

In geographically dispersed organizations, like multinational corporations (MNCs), contextual gaps exist between senders and receivers of knowledge. Employee socialization resulting from physical proximity facilitates contextualization of the transferred knowledge. However, in MNCs most knowledge transfers take place through virtual communication media. We investigate the phenomenon of virtual communities of practice, and propose them to be efficient for individual’s knowledge retrieval as participation in such communities reduces the contextual gaps between senders and receivers of knowledge. However, the organization must provide a knowledge-sharing friendly culture, and an institutional protectionism, in order to establish the required level of swift trust within the virtual community.

Narrative and Logical Strategies in Socio-cognitive Interaction between Children

International Journal of Behavioral Development ◽

10.1177/016502549401700209 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 383-395 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ada Fonzi ◽

Andrea Smorti

Keyword(s):

Point Of View ◽

Second Phase ◽

Shared Meanings ◽

Third Phase ◽

Personal Approach ◽

Three Stages ◽

Interactional Process ◽

To Come ◽

The Individual

This study is an analysis of the "meaning giving" process in children when they have to classify empirical objects. There are three stages to the experiment: (1) the children performed a classification task individually; (2) they performed it with a companion; (3) in the individual control situation they performed it again but alone. The aim of this research project was to establish: (1) how children change the meanings they give to objects when they move from an individual situation to a social one; and (2) the role of the two children's different classification strategies in the negotiation of shared meanings. The sample consisted of 72 6-year-old children. Three different classification criteria were distinguished: category; function; and narrative. The results showed that children who used narrative criteria in the first phase ("narrative children") modified them during the second phase in favour of more categorial criteria. Analysis of the interactional process revealed that narrative children were significantly more willing than "logical children" (who had used categorial criteria in the first phase) to come to terms with their companion's point of view. In the third phase both types of children changed their classification strategies, in part absorbing their companion's classification approach. We conclude that: (1) the personal approach to giving a meaning to objects influences the individual child's interaction strategies; and (2) the experience of comparison and social conflict modifies attribution of meaning in narrative and logical children.

Introduction to the thematic file

Management international ◽

10.7202/1052761ar ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 12-17

Author(s):

Karine Goglio-Primard ◽

Claude Guittard ◽

Thierry Burger-Helmchen

Keyword(s):

Organizational Learning ◽

Literature Review ◽

Communities Of Practice ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Know How ◽

Business Units ◽

Networks Of Practice ◽

Informal Settings

This chapter aims at a better understanding of the dynamics leading firms to create Networks of practice (NoP) to transfer knowledge and know-how between its geographically dispersed business units. In this introduction we focus on the complementarity between communities of practice (CoP) and networks of practice (NoP) inside firms to share knowledge and consolidate organizational learning. We show that informal settings where people interact around their practices, such as CoP facilitate and consolidate knowledge sharing inside firms and enable them to create a larger network. After a literature review on CoP and NoP, the chapter will highlight the role of CoP and boundaries processes (brokers, boundary objects) in the development of NoP.