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

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  • Borzillo, Stefano
  • Aznar, Stéphane
  • Schmitt, Achim

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Borzillo, Stefano & Aznar, Stéphane & Schmitt, Achim, 2011. "A journey through communities of practice: How and why members move from the periphery to the core," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 25-42, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:29:y:2011:i:1:p:25-42
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    Cited by:

    1. Dejean, Sylvain & Jullien, Nicolas, 2015. "Big from the beginning: Assessing online contributors’ behavior by their first contribution," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(6), pages 1226-1239.
    2. Mary Moore & Paul O’ Leary & Derek Sinnott & Jane Russell O’ Connor, 2019. "Extending communities of practice: a partnership model for sustainable schools," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1745-1762, August.
    3. Sorin Matei & Nicolas Jullien & Amira Rezgui & Diane Jackson, 2019. "The evolution of online co-production groups and its effects on content quality," Post-Print hal-01985702, HAL.
    4. Caccamo, Marta & Beckman, Sara, 2022. "Leveraging accelerator spaces to foster knowledge communities," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).

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