Title: Organising for continuous innovation: the community of practice approach

Authors: Mariano Corso, Antonella Martini, Raffaello Balocco

Addresses: School of Management, Polythecnic of Milan, P.zza Leonardo da Vinci 32, Milan I-20133, Italy. ' Faculty of Engineering, University of Pisa, Via Diotisalvi 2, Pisa I-56122, Italy. ' School of Management, Polythecnic of Milan, P.zza Leonardo da Vinci 32, Milan I-20133, Italy

Abstract: This paper aims to develop actionable knowledge to support management in designing and developing a business Community of Practice (CoP) in order to create value for both the organisation and its members. After a two-year field research, with seven case studies performed and three best practices chosen from secondary sources, a six-stage roadmap has been proposed, where both managerial guidelines and actionable models are provided.

Keywords: business communities of practice; KM; knowledge management; governance; management guidelines; evolutionary model; case studies; continuous innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2008.021049

International Journal of Technology Management, 2008 Vol.44 No.3/4, pp.441 - 460

Published online: 31 Oct 2008 *

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