Virtual communities of practice: the communication of knowledge across cultural boundaries
by Jo Hanisch, Deborah Churchman
International Journal of Web Based Communities (IJWBC), Vol. 4, No. 4, 2008

Abstract: Communities of practice, described as social structures which enable knowledge to be managed by practitioners, are recognised as important to the social fabric of knowledge (Wenger, 2004). As a result of the internationalisation of business and the development of enabling technologies, there has emerged the notion of Virtual (online) Communities of Practice (VCoP), where members make use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to share stories, knowledge and practices. This new phenomenon raises some issues for the ways knowledge communication occurs at work. Little is known about the application of communities of practice theory in the virtual domain, especially in relation to the communication of knowledge across cultural boundaries. This paper draws on qualitative data from a study of several VCoPs to explore their members' communication and cultural experiences. The findings identify some barriers to sustaining communities of practice in a virtual context, and the issues which exist when organisations intentionally create these communities for specific organisational purposes. These issues include the transition of legitimate peripheral participants to full practising members of the VCoP; cultural diversity in intercultural VCoPs; and the ways in which VCoPs are constructed by management to meet a transient need, rather than allowed to emerge.

Online publication date: Wed, 16-Jul-2008

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Web Based Communities (IJWBC):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com