Understanding and Improving the Professional Toolbox: Communities of Practice as a Paradigmatic Lesson for Knowledge Management

Abstract

CoPs have a special place in the KM toolbox, and have attracted an increasing interest of scholars and practitioners for many years. The chapter illustrates the origins and evolution of the notion, the variety of its practical applications, and the place it has in KM. Particularly, it aims: (a) to describe how the notion of CoP has changed over time and there is no unambiguous nor agreed definition; (b) to show how this has led to a proliferation of different organisational configurations that are tagged as CoPs; (c) to discuss how this is also an opportunity for setting a new agenda for KM, both in theoretical and practical terms; and (d) to illustrate how the case of CoPs provides useful lessons for KM: in particular, researchers and practitioners should reflect on how the lack of consistency and robustness of concepts and notions can hinder the progress of KM as both a scientific discipline and a professional practice.