The Value of Communities of Practice (CoPs) Within Knowledge Management (KM)

This paper focuses on Communities of Practice (CoPs) as one vehicle for managing knowledge in an international organisation, with core business areas in civil and defence aerospace, as well as industrial and marine power. The study aims to characterise the nature of CoPs in terms of the value they provide. 21 CoPs were sampled using a range of data collection methods, and thematic analysis resulted in the following four categories of value: re-use and transfer of knowledge; connecting and strengthening of networks; motives and rewards for participation; and gaining management support and organisational credibility. It is argued that the multi-dimensional value of CoPs implementations can be conceptualised as reducing costs, and/or adding benefits at various levels. Effective CoPs operate like a lens to draw in disconnected people, practices and knowledge, and then focus on relevant issues at personal, community and organisational levels. CoPs can be a powerful component of a holistic KM strategy, when the strengths of people’s tendency to seek social interaction and share informal knowledge are balanced with addressing formal, business needs and demonstrating organisational value. introdUction This paper focuses on Communities of Practice (CoPs) as one vehicle for managing knowledge in the workplace. The research investigates 21 CoPs operating in an international organisation, with core business areas in civil and defence aerospace, as well as industrial and marine power. A review of the relevant literature on CoPs is used to inform the rationale and objectives for the present study. The research context and methods are then described, before presenting and discussing the main findings, and drawing preliminary conclusions. literAtUre review Despite claims made by theorists and practitioners that Knowledge Management (KM) can be a primary opportunity for improved organisational effectiveness and gains in competitive advantage, the empirical evidence remains sparse (Scarborough, 2003). A consideration of the literature reveals a polarization between what may be classified as technology-based approaches and more social/people orientations to KM (McDermott, 1999; Wenger et al, 2002). Both technological and social solutions should be accommodated if an organisation is to manage knowledge resources effectively (Bhatt, 2001). Bechy (2003) highlights the transfer of knowledge across boundaries as a major KM challenge, and the potential role of occupational CoPs. Indeed, CoPs have been forwarded as central to many KM strategies, particularly those aimed at facilitating knowledge sharing and exchange between geographically, socially and organisationally distributed workgroups (Brown & Duguid, 1991; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Orr, 1990). Ali (2001) further supports the importance of cultivating CoPs to promote the more creative and implicit features of knowledge activities. There is a significant interest in how to effectively capitalise on the organic, informal and resilient nature of CoPs, in order to cultivate and nuture them as more formal organisational knowledge assets (McDermott, 2000). From this standpoint, CoPs can help span boundaries created by typical hierarchical and bureaucratic organisational structures (Scarbrough, 2003). The emphasis is on encouraging the free and open sharing of experiences among CoP members about work, and facilitating this through trust and reciprocity with little direct management (Swan & Newell, 2000). However, the notion of cultivating CoPs and increasing the level of management and control means that some return on investment becomes a priority. For CoPs, like many KM activities, this goal of demonstrating value is difficult to meet. Essentially, there is a recognition that it is easier for organisations to adopt, accept and justify technological KM solutions. However, guidance on nurturing these often fragile organisational units has been recently outlined (Gonglo & Rizzuto, 2001; Wenger et al, 2002.). Typically, this advice describes ideal lifecycle models of development, and offers suggestions on how to facilitate the CoPs through various stages to reach maturity and demonstrate value at the organisational level (Skyrme, 2002). Despite these advances, there is scope for empirical work on what the value of CoPs means in organisational reality. Research objectives The reported successes of CoPs are limited to a relatively few number of organisations and small-scale case studies (Breu & Hemingway, 2002). With this in mind, the current study has the following objectives: • to characterise the nature of the CoPs • to categorise the value that CoPs can provide Research Context The research was carried out in a large global company providing power for land, sea and air, which has core business areas in civil and defence aerospace, as well as industrial and marine power. At this time, CoPs were being promoted and supported as one element of a company-wide KM initiative. Within this investigation, 21 CoPs were sampled using a range of data collection and analysis methods, which served to triangulate the findings and strengthen the overall claims. The CoPs covered a wide range of issues and topics including: parts and components (e.g. bearings, compressors, and control systems); analysis techniques (e.g. automatic and thermo-mechanical); engineering design (e.g. computational fluid dynamics and whole engine modelling); IT (e.g. computer-aided design and intranet development); and organisational strategy (e.g. business intelligence and knowledge management). metHodology The multi-method case study approach provided a comprehensive account of CoPs, and permitted the perspectives of the main stakeholders (i.e. facilitators, members and researcher) to be acknowledged and investigated. Both planned and opportunistic methods of data collection were used, with each technique offering particular insights. A qualitative survey and semi-structured interviews constituted the main methods of data collection, while the researcher also participated in workshops, meetings, and informal discussions. All data were analysed for qualitative themes. Questionnaire Initially, a short self-assessment questionnaire was developed collaboratively by the researcher and key contacts within the host organisation. This instrument was designed to elicit the views and opinions members had of their CoP, together with any future aspirations. It can be seen as a health-check mechanism or a method of Managing Worldwide Operations & Communications with Information Technology 791 Copyright © 2007, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. taking the temperature of a CoP (Adams & Freeman, 2000). The survey focused attention on CoP issues such as; objectives, activities, problems and successes, and was either administered at meetings or circulated electronically to the appropriate distribution lists. Anonymity was guaranteed and 52 responses were received. interviews Ten interviews with facilitators and members of various CoPs were also conducted in the early stages of the case study. These allowed the researcher to become familiar with the specific groups under investigation, and started the process of gathering data about indicators of value. Subsequently a further 15 interviews were undertaken with facilitators and members. All interviews were audio-recorded and in order to retain a degree of informality and flexibility, a semi-structured interview guide was used to cover a set of issues (e.g. goals and objectives; roles and activities; problems and obstacles; successes and achievements) Meetings and Workshops The researcher also participated in meetings and workshops (n=15), which were centred on providing feedback to, and eliciting further views from CoP members. Several of these face-to-face events were used for more specific purposes, such as, gathering and documenting success stories and failures as useful lessons. In conjunction with the more formal methods of collecting data, informal discussions were also held with several of the CoP facilitators (n=5). Thematic Data Analysis The recorded interviews were fully transcribed, while detailed field-notes from meetings, workshops and informal discussions were also written up. As the survey responses were also in written format, the analysis was mainly qualitative and focused on developing themes to address each of the research objectives. reSUltS Key features of the CoPs are briefly described before outlining the main findings from overall analyses of value (see Table 1 for representative examples of the CoPs investigated). nature of cops Although the CoPs initiative formed part of a larger KM programme within the organisation, two clear patterns of emergence can be distinguished. Most of the CoPs were initially informal interest groups, while a minority were set up in the wake of a disbanding project team. Typical objectives for these groups are to facilitate different types of KM processes, namely; solve problems (know-what), share good practices (know-how), and link people (know-who). Face-to-face meetings and workshops were common at start-up and then to review progress and plan next steps at regular intervals. Email, discussion lists and intranet websites allow on-going updates and news provision for members. In terms of organisation, some CoPs have become hierarchical and evolved sub-units with dedicated functions. There are also examples of CoP roles being distributed by company site location or across key individuals. value of cops The study reveals the following four categories of value attributable to the CoPs initiative: re-use and transfer of knowledge; connecting and strengthening of networks; motives and rewards for participation; and gaining management support and organisational credibility. These factors are inter-related and within each there are several sub-components and