Assessing capability for justice information sharing
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The Journal of Strategic Information Systems
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Journal of Management Information Systems
International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations
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Journal of Management Information Systems
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KES-AMSTA '09 Proceedings of the Third KES International Symposium on Agent and Multi-Agent Systems: Technologies and Applications
Trans-Situated Learning: Supporting a Network of Practice with an Information Infrastructure
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Organization Science
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Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
Digital capability assessment for egovernment: a multi-dimensional approach
EGOV'06 Proceedings of the 5th international conference on Electronic Government
A community of practice view of intervention programmes: the case of women returning to IT
Information Systems Journal
The Cross-Purposes of Cross-Posting: Boundary Reshaping Behavior in Online Discussion Communities
Information Systems Research
International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals
International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking
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Computers in Human Behavior
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If communities of practice (Lave and Wenger 1991) are best understood as fluid social relations, enacted among a self-selected group of participants, then are they best left alone, free from "interference" by organizational managers and policymakers? Or are there ways in which organizations can provide helpful support to such communities, without constraining the delicate dynamic by which they are sustained?This paper supports the latter position, arguing that organizations should sponsor the creation of certain loose organizational structures, around which it is hoped that communities of practice may then interact. However, some recent empirical research is presented suggesting that attempts to control group interaction by introducing too much structure are likely to result in the demise of the community itself. It is therefore proposed that there are lower and upper parameters for structural intervention in communities of practice.It is suggested that such communities also haveepistemic parameters, where participants' willingness to express their ideas as conceptual boundary objects around which others may engage and develop ideas is a minimum requirement, but where too much inward communicative focus is likely to result in gradual loss of meaning, with a negative effect on the community. In developing this position, this paper attempts to deepen our theoretical understanding of the interrelationship between organizational structure and the epistemic activity of members of communities of practice. Several practical implications of these insights are discussed for organizations wishing to cultivate and maintain communities of practice within their own working environments.