Communities of practice and its effects on firm performance: A process-oriented study

초록

The growth of interests in communities of practice is a sign of a paradigm shift in knowledge management. This paper intends to integrate the motivational factors influencing participation in communities of practice and its impacts on firm performance. We identify three determinants affecting participation in communities of practice, and argue that it leads to knowledge exchange, operational performance, and firm performance. The data required for this field study was collected from 122 firms headquartered in Korea. Additional theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed in the paper. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.