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Online communities as communities of practice: a case study

Online communities as communities of practice: a case study Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate to which extent the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) can be applied to online communities and to explore how organizations can better utilize online social structures for their knowledge management practice. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was used to examine an online community with the practice‐and‐identity framework that characterizes conventional CoPs. Qualitative data analysis was conducted primarily on 7,853 messages downloaded from the online community during a six week period. Findings – The results showed how an online community could manifest the practice and identity characteristics of conventional CoPs as community members actively engaged in their shared practice and identity development while pursuing a joint enterprise. Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted in a single Chinese online community on traveling, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications – This study suggested how organizations can nurture online CoPs. In addition, a hierarchical model was proposed to help organizations identify the appropriate online social structure for their knowledge management purposes. Originality/value – This study empirically verified that CoPs can emerge from online communities and demonstrated that the concept of CoPs can be used to guide knowledge sharing and knowledge creation in online environments. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Knowledge Management Emerald Publishing

Online communities as communities of practice: a case study

Wei Zhang; Stephanie Watts
Journal of Knowledge Management , Volume 12 (4): 17 – Jul 18, 2008
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1367-3270
DOI
10.1108/13673270810884255
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate to which extent the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) can be applied to online communities and to explore how organizations can better utilize online social structures for their knowledge management practice. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was used to examine an online community with the practice‐and‐identity framework that characterizes conventional CoPs. Qualitative data analysis was conducted primarily on 7,853 messages downloaded from the online community during a six week period. Findings – The results showed how an online community could manifest the practice and identity characteristics of conventional CoPs as community members actively engaged in their shared practice and identity development while pursuing a joint enterprise. Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted in a single Chinese online community on traveling, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications – This study suggested how organizations can nurture online CoPs. In addition, a hierarchical model was proposed to help organizations identify the appropriate online social structure for their knowledge management purposes. Originality/value – This study empirically verified that CoPs can emerge from online communities and demonstrated that the concept of CoPs can be used to guide knowledge sharing and knowledge creation in online environments.

Journal

Journal of Knowledge Management – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jul 18, 2008

Keywords: Online operations; Communities; Knowledge sharing; China

References

  • Cultural influences on knowledge sharing through online communities of practice
    Ardichvili, A.; Maurer, M.; Li, W.; Wentling, T.; Stuedemann, R.
  • Intentional social action in virtual communities
    Bagozzi, R.P.; Dholakia, U.M.