IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v37y2008i2p353-369.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Knowing in action: Beyond communities of practice

Author

Listed:
  • Amin, Ash
  • Roberts, Joanne

Abstract

This paper engages with the recent turn in the social sciences towards communities of practice as a driver of learning and knowledge generation across a variety of different working environments. While agreeing with the broad reinstatement of situated social practice in thinking on the dynamics of knowledge capitalism, the paper takes issue with the increasingly homogeneous and instrumentalist use of the term communities of practice to encapsulate 'knowing in action'. On the basis of an extensive review of the available literature, the paper argues for the importance of differentiating between different varieties of knowing in action. The paper notes the differences - in organisation, spatial dynamics, innovation outcomes, and knowledge processes - between four modes: craft or task-based knowing; epistemic or high creativity knowing; professional knowing; and virtual knowing. The proposed typology is used to illustrate the insight gained from such analytical precision, through a discussion of the spatial configuration of knowing in action, long assumed to require spatial proximity. It is shown that spatial and relational proximity - which can be struck at a distance - should not be treated as one and the same.

Suggested Citation

  • Amin, Ash & Roberts, Joanne, 2008. "Knowing in action: Beyond communities of practice," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 353-369, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:37:y:2008:i:2:p:353-369
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048-7333(07)00237-5
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ben D. MacArthur & Richard O. C. Oreffo, 2005. "Bridging the gap," Nature, Nature, vol. 433(7021), pages 19-19, January.
    2. Ash Amin & Patrick Cohendet, 2004. "Architectures of knowledge : Firms, capabilities, and communities," Post-Print hal-00279605, HAL.
    3. Haas, Peter M., 1992. "Introduction: epistemic communities and international policy coordination," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 1-35, January.
    4. Matthew A. Zook, 2004. "The knowledge brokers: venture capitalists, tacit knowledge and regional development," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 621-641, September.
    5. M. S. Gertler & Y. M. Levitte, 2005. "Local Nodes in Global Networks: The Geography of Knowledge Flows in Biotechnology Innovation," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 487-507.
    6. Paul R. Carlile, 2002. "A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 442-455, August.
    7. Saxenian, AnnaLee & Hsu, Jinn-Yuh, 2001. "The Silicon Valley-Hsinchu Connection: Technical Communities and Industrial Upgrading," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(4), pages 893-920, December.
    8. Anders Malmberg & Peter Maskell, 2006. "Localized Learning Revisited," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 1-18, March.
    9. Karen Handley & Andrew Sturdy & Robin Fincham & Timothy Clark, 2006. "Within and Beyond Communities of Practice: Making Sense of Learning Through Participation, Identity and Practice," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 641-653, May.
    10. Daniel Beunza & David Stark, 2004. "Tools of the trade: the socio-technology of arbitrage in a Wall Street trading room," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 13(2), pages 369-400, April.
    11. Creplet, F. & Dupouet, O. & Kern, F. & Mehmanpazir, B. & Munier, F., 2001. "Consultants and experts in management consulting firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 1517-1535, December.
    12. Michelle Gittelman, 2007. "Does Geography Matter for Science-Based Firms? Epistemic Communities and the Geography of Research and Patenting in Biotechnology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(4), pages 724-741, August.
    13. Gernot Grabher & Oliver Ibert, 2006. "Bad company? The ambiguity of personal knowledge networks," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(3), pages 251-271, June.
    14. Joanne Roberts, 2006. "Limits to Communities of Practice," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 623-639, May.
    15. Lars Lindkvist, 2005. "Knowledge Communities and Knowledge Collectivities: A Typology of Knowledge Work in Groups," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(6), pages 1189-1210, September.
    16. Mark Thompson, 2005. "Structural and Epistemic Parameters in Communities of Practice," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(2), pages 151-164, April.
    17. Winroth, Karin, 2003. "Professionals in Investment Banks - Sharing an Epistemic Practice or an Occupational Community?," GRI-rapport 2003:1, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg Research Institute GRI.
    18. Mark Lorenzen, 2005. "Introduction: Knowledge and Geography," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 399-407.
    19. Ron Boschma, 2005. "Proximity and Innovation: A Critical Assessment," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 61-74.
    20. John Seely Brown & Paul Duguid, 1991. "Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 40-57, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Caccamo, Marta & Beckman, Sara, 2022. "Leveraging accelerator spaces to foster knowledge communities," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    2. Michael Kaethler, 2019. "Curating creative communities of practice: the role of ambiguity," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 8(1), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Roman Martin, 2013. "Differentiated Knowledge Bases and the Nature of Innovation Networks," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(9), pages 1418-1436, September.
    4. Jili Xu & Fiona Fan Yang & Desheng Xue, 2019. "The Geography of Knowledge Sourcing, Personal Networks, and Innovation Effects: Evidence from the Biomedical Firms in Guangzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-18, June.
    5. Siedlok, Frank & Hibbert, Paul & Sillince, John, 2015. "From practice to collaborative community in interdisciplinary research contexts," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 96-107.
    6. Markus Grillitsch & Magnus Nilsson, 2015. "Innovation in peripheral regions: Do collaborations compensate for a lack of local knowledge spillovers?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 54(1), pages 299-321, January.
    7. Chris Kimble, 2013. "Knowledge management, codification and tacit knowledge," Post-Print halshs-00826911, HAL.
    8. Thomas J. Hannigan & Alessandra Perri & Vittoria Giada Scalera, 2016. "The Dispersed Multinational: Does Connectedness Across Spatial Dimensions Lead to Broader Technological Search?," Working Papers 11, Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
    9. Agterberg, M. & Hooff, B. van den & Huysman, M., 2008. "Keeping the wheels turning : multi-level dynamics in organizing networks of practice," Serie Research Memoranda 0003, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    10. Anders Malmberg & Peter Maskell, 2006. "Localized Learning Revisited," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 1-18, March.
    11. Giuliani, Elisa & Bell, Martin, 2005. "The micro-determinants of meso-level learning and innovation: evidence from a Chilean wine cluster," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 47-68, February.
    12. Harvey, Jean-François & Cohendet, Patrick & Simon, Laurent & Dubois, Louis-Etienne, 2013. "Another cog in the machine: Designing communities of practice in professional bureaucracies," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 27-40.
    13. Caccamo, Marta & Pittino, Daniel & Tell, Fredrik, 2023. "Boundary objects, knowledge integration, and innovation management: A systematic review of the literature," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    14. Christopher Esposito & David Rigby, 2017. "When Buzz and Pipelines Fail," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1701, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jan 2017.
    15. Xiyao Xiang & Wei-Chiao Huang, 2019. "Does Distance Affect the Role of Nonlocal Subsidiaries on Cluster Firms’ Innovation? An Empirical Investigation on Chinese Biotechnology Cluster Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-18, November.
    16. Der-Shiuan Lee, 2018. "Towards Urban Resilience through Inter-City Networks of Co-Invention: A Case Study of U.S. Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-23, January.
    17. Breandán hUallacháin & Der-Shiuan Lee, 2014. "Urban centers and networks of co-invention in American biotechnology," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 52(3), pages 799-823, May.
    18. Karin Dessne & Katriina Byström, 2015. "Imitating CoPs: Imposing formality on informality," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 66(11), pages 2277-2284, November.
    19. Kuebart, Andreas & Ibert, Oliver, 2019. "Beyond territorial conceptions of entrepreneurial ecosystems: The dynamic spatiality of knowledge brokering in seed accelerators," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 63(2-4), pages 118-133.
    20. Verena Brinks, 2016. "Situated affect and collective meaning: A community perspective on processes of value creation and commercialization in enthusiast-driven fields," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(6), pages 1152-1169, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:37:y:2008:i:2:p:353-369. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.