Born to be Wild: Using Communities of Practice as a Tool for Knowledge Management

TL;DR

This paper explores how cultivating Communities of Practice impacts knowledge sharing in organizations, comparing natural and managed communities through two years of research in a microelectronics firm.

Contribution

It provides insights into the effects of domesticated versus wild Communities of Practice on knowledge management practices.

Findings

Cultivated Communities of Practice can enhance knowledge sharing.

Taming Communities of Practice involves specific risks and benefits.

Research based on two years of empirical data from a microelectronics firm.

Abstract

This paper looks at what happens when Communities of Practice are used as a tool for Knowledge Management. The original concept of a Community of Practice appears to have very little in common with the knowledge sharing communities found in Knowledge Management, which are based on a revised view of 'cultivated' communities. We examine the risks and benefits of cultivating Communities of Practice rather than leaving them 'in the wild'. The paper presents the findings from two years of research in a small microelectronics firm to provide some insights into the wild vs domesticated dichotomy and discusses the implications of attempting to tame Communities of Practice in this way.