Cooperating apart - a qualitative study about conditions for knowledge sharing in distributed communities of practice

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to understand conditions for maintaining knowledge sharing in distributed communities of practice (DCoPs) in the context of a multinational corporation by collecting team members’ perspectives. Since DCoPs exist in the organisational context and are enabled by ICT, the study also aims to capture the role attributed to both the organisational context as well as to communication technology. Theoretical framework: To gain a deeper understanding of knowledge sharing, the study’s theoretical framework is based upon the theories Communities of Practice and Communities of Practice and Information Technology (CoPIT). While the first theory enables to describe community elements important for knowledge sharing, the second framework emphasises the interrelation with technology guiding how knowledge is shared Methodology: The study takes a qualitative approach and the empirical data is based on interviews with members in two DCoPs in an R&D-intensive multinational corporation. Results: The results show that achieving successful knowledge sharing in distributed work settings remains challenging for organisations. The study indicates the importance of clearly-articulated common goals and appropriate community structures prominent for distributed work, which provides possibilities to share knowledge. Further, the technological support for knowledge sharing is also tightly related to the existence of structures and shared practices in DCoPs. The results also underline the organisation being vital for fostering a community identity and creating a thorough ground for knowledge sharing. We argue that knowledge can be shared in any condition, but through appropriate conditions it becomes sustainable and favours community coherence improving employee development as well as securing vital knowledge in the organisation overall. Keywords: Knowledge sharing, communities of practice, ICT, multinational organisation