A journey through communities of practice: How and why members move from the periphery to the core

Stefano Borzillo, Stéphane Aznar and Achim Schmitt

European Management Journal, 2011, vol. 29, issue 1, 25-42

Abstract: Summary Specific forms of intra-organizational or inter-organizational networks - communities of practice (CoPs) - are becoming increasingly important. These informal groups of people are well suited for the development and sharing of knowledge and practices across divisions. Our investigation of 9 CoPs (created between 1997 and 2002) in 7 major European and US multinational corporations uncovers a 5-phase process of integration and learning activities. Our findings detail a process of member evolution from peripheral, to active, to core members. These five phases - awareness, allocation, accountability, architectural, and advertising - constitute an ongoing process within CoPs, with newcomers joining and some long-standing core members choosing to end their participation.

Keywords: Community; of; practice; CoP; Legitimate; peripherality; Process; of; integration; Peripheral; member; Core; member (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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