Communities are the centerpiece of the World Bank s strategy to share knowledge among developing countries in all aspects of development. Specialists in urban services to the poor, for example, share their experience across continents to fulfill their commitment to eliminate urban slums. Communities are also expanding beyond the traditional organizational boundaries to include vendors, partners, and customers. These inter-organizational communities, like communities inside companies, rely on internal leadership, shared passion, and ongoing relationships. E-commerce both generates and is influenced by learning communities.
Most businesses think of e-commerce in terms of efficient transactions and new access to customers.
The greatest potential of e-commerce, though, lies in moving from a strictly market view of customer relationships to an approach that treats customers as members of a learning community organized around a related set of products and services. Communities of practice are valuable to learning organizations because they represent a completely new layer of organizational structure previously not addressed by traditional business units. Nevertheless, communities also present an unfamiliar challenge for managers. Nurturing healthy communities is more like tending a garden than building an engine they thrive on the personal energies and relationships of members. You depend on members passion for the topic that brings the community together.