Taking a Differentiated View of Intra-organizational Distributed Networks of Practice

This study examines distributed networks of practice in a multinational organization in the energy and marine insurance industry. By taking a differentiated view of intra-organizational networks of practice, we identified three main categories of intra-organizational distributed networks of practice in terms of their primary knowledge activities - knowledge sharing, incremental knowledge creation, and radical knowledge creation. We then compared the networks along two dimensions: 1) the degree of diversity among network participants and 2) the communication media used by the network participants. Findings suggest that a higher degree of diversity is related to a higher degree of knowledge creation activities, but too much diversity may be restrictive when the primary activity is radical innovation. In addition, media use findings indicated an unexpected reverse relationship in which networks of practice with high task equivocality used leaner media than networks with less task equivocality. The results also indicate that the degree of diversity of a network's members may influence media use. Finally, support is found for second level media effects of media choice within the networks of practice, such as the degree to which individuals in the core of the network of practice may protect their domain.

[1]  Randolph B. Cooper,et al.  Exploring the Core Concepts of Media Richness Theory: The Impact of Cue Multiplicity and Feedback Immediacy on Decision Quality , 2003, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[2]  John Seely Brown,et al.  Book Reviews : The Social Life of Information By John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2000. 320 pages , 2000 .

[3]  R. Grant.  Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm,” Strategic Management Journal (17), pp. , 1996 .

[4]  Etienne Wenger,et al.  Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity , 1998 .

[5]  Etienne Wenger,et al.  Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation , 1991 .

[6]  Davide Nicolini,et al.  Learning the Trade: A Culture of Safety in Practice , 2002 .

[7]  Johannes M. Pennings,et al.  Information Technology in Production Organizations , 1987 .

[8]  J. Dutton,et al.  The Adoption of Radical and Incremental Innovations: An Empirical Analysis , 1986 .

[9]  A. Edmondson,et al.  Situated Knowledge and Learning in Dispersed Teams , 2002 .

[10]  W. Orlikowski,et al.  Genres of Organizational Communication: A Structurational Approach to Studying Communication and Media , 1992 .

[11]  Eli Hustad,et al.  Knowledge networking in global organizations: the transfer of knowledge , 2004, SIGMIS CPR '04.

[12]  Paola Forcheri.  Implementing Collaboration Technologies in Industry - Case Examples and Lessons Learned , 2003, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[13]  K. Weick.  The social psychology of organizing , 1969 .

[14]  Wenpin Tsai.  Social Structure of Coopetition Within a Multiunit Organization: Coordination, Competition, and Intraorganizational Knowledge Sharing , 2002 .

[15]  K. Eisenhardt.  Building theories from case study research , 1989, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[16]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design , 1986 .

[17]  Clarence A. Ellis,et al.  Groupware: some issues and experiences , 1991, CACM.

[18]  Pamela J. Hinds,et al.  What Do We Know about Proximity and Distance in Work Groups? A Legacy of Research , 2002 .

[19]  J. Brown,et al.  Knowledge and Organization: A Social-Practice Perspective , 2001 .

[20]  Mark S. Granovetter.  The Strength of Weak Ties , 1973, American Journal of Sociology.

[21]  Vincent di Norcia.  Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution , 1991 .

[22]  Wanda J. Orlikowski,et al.  Knowing in practice: Enacting a collective capability in distributed organizing , 2002, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[23]  J. Brown,et al.  Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation , 1991 .

[24]  Paul Hildreth,et al.  Communities of practice in the distributed international environment , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[25]  B. Seely,et al.  Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice , 1991 .

[26]  Amany R. Elbanna,et al.  From Control to Drift: The Dynamics of Corporate Information Infrastructures , 2001 .

[27]  Emmanuelle Vaast.  The Use of Intranets: The Missing Link Between Communities of Practice and Networks of Practice? , 2004 .

[28]  Jennifer Preece,et al.  Lurker demographics: counting the silent , 2000, CHI.

[29]  E. Wenger.  Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity , 1998 .

[30]  Robin Teigland,et al.  Knowledge networking : structure and performance in networks of practice , 2003 .

[31]  M. Lynne Markus,et al.  Toward a “Critical Mass” Theory of Interactive Media , 1987 .

[32]  A. Reber.  Implicit learning and tacit knowledge , 1993 .

[33]  M. Gordon,et al.  PUBLICATION RECORDS AND TENURE DECISIONS IN THE FIELD OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT , 1996 .

[34]  S. Justesen.  Innoversity in Communities of Practice , 2004 .

[35]  John R. Carlson.  Channel expansion theory: A dynamic view of media and information richness perceptions , 1994 .

[36]  Michael H. Zack,et al.  Interactivity and Communication Mode Choice in Ongoing Management Groups , 1993, Inf. Syst. Res..

[37]  Ojelanki K. Ngwenyama,et al.  Communication Richness in Electronic Mail: Critical Social Theory and the Contextuality of Meaning , 1997, MIS Q..

[38]  Eric L. Lesser,et al.  Communities of practice and organizational performance , 2001, IBM Syst. J..

[39]  Bjørn Erik Munkvold,et al.  It-Supported Competence Management: A Case Study at Ericsson , 2005, Inf. Syst. Manag..

[40]  Christine B. Johnson,et al.  Supporting distributed communities of practice with interactive television , 2000 .

[41]  Robin Teigland,et al.  Integrating Knowledge through Information Trading: Examining the Relationship between Boundary Spanning Communication and Individual Performance , 2003, Decis. Sci..

[42]  R. Grant.  Chapter 8 – Prospering in Dynamically-Competitive Environments: Organizational Capability as Knowledge Integration , 1999 .

[43]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Message Equivocality, Media Selection, and Manager Performance: Implications for Information Systems , 1987, MIS Q..

[44]  Paul R. Carlile,et al.  A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development , 2002, Organ. Sci..

[45]  David Lazer,et al.  Building Effective Intra-Organizational Networks: The Role of Teams , 2003 .

[46]  H. Ibarra.  Homophily and differential returns: Sex differences in network structure and access in an advertising firm. , 1992 .

[47]  Andrew Schenkel,et al.  Communities of practice or communities of discipline : managing deviations at the Øresund Bridge , 2002 .

[48]  Jos‚Äö Fonseca,et al.  Complexity and Innovation in Organizations , 2001 .

[49]  Wanda J. Orlikowski,et al.  Learning from Notes: organizational issues in groupware implementation , 1992, CSCW '92.

[50]  M. Hutchinson.  The Social Life of Information , 2002 .

[51]  B. Kogut,et al.  Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology , 1992 .

[52]  Maureen S. Battistella,et al.  Connections: New Ways of Working in the Networked Organization , 1991 .

[53]  F. Blackler.  Knowledge, Knowledge Work and Organizations: An Overview and Interpretation , 1995 .

[54]  Ramkrishnan V. Tenkasi,et al.  P ERSPECTIVE M AKING AND P ERSPECTIVE T AKING IN C OMMUNITIES OF K NOWING , 2000 .

[55]  G. Hedlund.  A model of knowledge management and the N‐form corporation , 2007 .

[56]  M. McLure Wasko,et al.  "It is what one does": why people participate and help others in electronic communities of practice , 2000, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[57]  J. Swan,et al.  The Construction of `Communities of Practice' in the Management of Innovation , 2002 .

[58]  Mark S. Granovetter.  T H E S T R E N G T H O F WEAK TIES: A NETWORK THEORY REVISITED , 1983 .

[59]  Allen S. Lee.  Electronic Mail as a Medium for Rich Communication: An Empirical Investigation Using Hermeneutic Interpretation , 1994, MIS Q..

[60]  Robin Teigland,et al.  Collective Action and Knowledge Contribution in Electronic Networks of Practice , 2004, J. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[61]  C. Steinfield,et al.  A Social Influence Model of Technology use , 1990 .

[62]  N. Contractor,et al.  Communication networks and new media in organizations , 1990 .

[63]  Janet Fulk,et al.  Organizations and Communication Technology , 1990 .

[64]  I. Nonaka.  A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation , 1994 .

[65]  Mcdp Mathieu Weggeman,et al.  Managing Learning in Informal Innovation Networks: Overcoming the Daphne-Dilemma , 2000 .

[66]  Pamela J. Hinds,et al.  Distributed Work , 2002 .

[67]  Samer Faraj,et al.  Why Should I Share? Examining Social Capital and Knowledge Contribution in Electronic Networks of Practice , 2005, MIS Q..

[68]  P. Berger,et al.  Social Construction of Reality , 1991, The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society.

[69]  E. Wenger,et al.  Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier , 2000 .

[70]  C. Kimble,et al.  Knowledge Networks: Innovation Through Communities of Practice , 2003 .