Web-based Learning Solutions for Communities of Practice

Conditions and Key Success Factors for the Management of Communities of Practice
moted perspective and the emergent approach, and
also some interesting reinforcement links between
them. But also we are conscious that this approach
can motivate some important contradictions, such
as imposing formal structures upon existing CoPs,
or treating as CoP structures which are not. This
is why, in order to advance a future research on
the topic of management-promoted CoP we would
suggest a more detailed analysis of the specific
dimensions of the cultivation process undertaken
and comparisons with the dimensions followed by
organic ones to assess differences in the development
process and goal achievement.
It would also be extremely interesting to sum
up the opinions of entrepreneurs regarding their
vision on the strengths and weaknesses of the
process of cultivating CoP in organizations and
also the experience of community members receiving
organizational support so as to compare
the perceived pros and cons. Likewise, it would
be a good idea to evaluate which is the present
general situation in the industry regarding the
existence of CoP in organizations, and the way
they have been originated and developed.
Finally, the study of the alignment between
individual and community interests is also an
important issue, not only for our research focus,
but also for CoP area in general. In fact, analyzing
open-source software communities it is possible
to note that they are effective communities, very
often more effective than communities cultivated
within organizations. This example can thus be
extended to organizations themselves, in which
it is obvious that it would be necessary to understand
what CoP already exists and which kind of
interest and goals are they serving.
CONCLUSION
Contributions
The main contribution of our study is demonstrating
that CoP’s can be promoted and led by man-
agement teams to achieve organizational goals,
and this will not be an obstacle for their right
development if they are honest with the means used
for that purpose. To be honest means accept the
four elements that constitute a CoP and working
to develop them and not weaken them.
As we have seen, some of the measures that can
weaken the development of the community, can
have accelerate its emergence, so it’s important
to be conscious of the evolutionary process that
the CoP will continue in case of success.
This study offers interesting insights for the
implementation of communities of practice understood
as a tool for knowledge management and for
improving competitiveness in organizations.
The reflection made on the challenges of the
creation of communities of practice clarifies possible
uncertainties or incoherencies that could
appear after reading the theory on these communities,
as well as their applicability on a practical
level. It also analyzes the various documented
real experiences, which can contribute to better
understand concepts such as design, cultivation of
communities, promotion of communities, organic
communities, etc.
Limitations of the Study
The most important limitation of this investigation
projects are the following:
• All the cases of CoP studied are established
within organizations, except for the freesoftware
community experience. The important
knowledge connection with clients,
procurers, public bodies, universities and
other actors of the innovation system and
the role that CoP’s can play on it, has been
out of question.
• Most of the experiences were successful, no
failure. This is the reason why these experiences
allow the detection of Success Key
Factors. Nevertheless, failure could occur
during CoPs’ cultivation process, even if the
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