Book chapter · 2016
Communities of Practice in Transition Economies: Innovation in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises
In Organizational Knowledge Facilitation through Communities of Practice in Emerging Markets, Advances in Knowledge Acquisition, Transfer, and Management, pp. 31–44, IGI Global · Published
Summary
Vajjhala (2016) examined, in a conceptual chapter, the factors contributing to the success of communities of practice (CoPs) in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in transition economies, the challenges that CoPs face there, and the role of national and organizational culture. The chapter notes that transition economies have different social and economic conditions compared with developing and developed countries, and argues that the success of CoPs in these SMEs depends to a certain extent on social and cultural factors. It develops a framework that could be applied to CoPs in transition economies.
Practical implication. Communities of practice can help SMEs with limited financial and human resources improve efficiency and productivity by using the organization’s knowledge resources, the chapter argues.
- The Problem
- SMEs in transition economies have limited resources for innovation, and the conditions under which communities of practice succeed there had not been theorized.
- The Methodology
- Conceptual chapter developing a framework for communities of practice in SMEs of transition economies from the knowledge management and culture literature.
- The Core Finding
- The chapter shows that the success of communities of practice in transition-economy SMEs depends partly on social and cultural factors that differ from those in developed and developing countries, and develops a framework for applying communities of practice in that context.
- The Citation
- Vajjhala, N. R. (2016). Communities of Practice in Transition Economies: Innovation in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises. In Organizational Knowledge Facilitation through Communities of Practice in Emerging Markets (pp. 31–44). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0013-1.ch002
The summary, key findings, methods, implications and relevance notes on this page are this website’s own description of the chapter, written from the published abstract and text. The official abstract and citation details are given further down.
Key findings
- Finding 1. The chapter describes communities of practice (CoPs) as informal groups of individuals sharing knowledge and experience within or outside an organization.
- Finding 2. The chapter argues that CoPs can help SMEs with limited financial and human resources improve efficiency and productivity by leveraging knowledge resources in the organization.
- Finding 3. The chapter notes that transition economies have different social and economic conditions compared with developing and developed countries, so the success of CoPs in transition-economy SMEs depends to a certain extent on social and cultural factors.
- Finding 4. The chapter explores the role of national and organizational culture in the functioning of CoPs in SMEs in transition economies.
- Finding 5. The chapter develops a framework that could be applied to CoPs in transition economies and identifies factors that might limit the work of CoPs in the context of SME innovation.
Source: Vajjhala (2016), In Organizational Knowledge Facilitation through Communities of Practice in Emerging Markets, Advances in Knowledge Acquisition, Transfer, and Management, pp. 31–44, IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0013-1.ch002
The chapter in detail
What question does this chapter answer?
What factors contribute to the success of communities of practice (CoPs) in SMEs in transition economies, what challenges do they face, and how do national and organizational culture shape their functioning?
What did the chapter find, in detail?
The chapter argues that the success of CoPs in transition-economy SMEs depends to a certain extent on the social and cultural factors of transition economies, which differ from those of developing and developed countries. It explores success factors, challenges, and the role of national and organizational culture, and develops a framework that could be applied to CoPs in transition economies.
Why does it matter?
According to the chapter, CoPs can help SMEs with limited financial and human resources improve efficiency and productivity by leveraging the organization's knowledge resources. The proposed framework and the factors identified as limiting CoPs are aimed at supporting innovation in SMEs in transition economies.
This study is part of the evidence overview How does national culture shape knowledge sharing and collaboration in transition economies? Evidence from Albania
Methods and data
| Research question | What drives and limits the success of communities of practice in SMEs in transition economies? |
|---|---|
| Design | Conceptual book chapter |
| Context | Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in transition economies |
| Focus | Success factors, challenges, and the role of national and organizational culture in CoPs |
| Main result | A framework that could be applied to CoPs in transition economies |
| Implication | CoPs can help resource-constrained SMEs improve efficiency and productivity by leveraging knowledge resources |
| Citation | Vajjhala (2016) · DOI 10.4018/978-1-5225-0013-1.ch002 |
Definitions and key terms
- Communities of practice (CoPs)
- Informal groups of individuals sharing knowledge and experience within or outside an organization (the chapter's own definition). — as used in Vajjhala (2016)
- Transition economy
- An economy moving from central planning toward a market-based system, which the chapter notes has social and economic conditions different from those of developing and developed countries. — as used in Vajjhala (2016)
Abstract
Communities of Practice (CoPs) are informal groups of individuals sharing knowledge and experience within or outside an organization. CoPs can help organizations, especially Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with limited financial and human resources improve efficiency and productivity by leveraging knowledge resources in the organization. Transition economies have different social and economic conditions as compared to developing and developed countries. The success of CoPs in SMEs located in transition economies depends to a certain extent on the social and cultural factors in transition economies. This chapter explores the factors contributing to the success of CoPs as well as challenges that CoPs face in transition economies. This chapter explores the role of national and organizational culture on the functioning of CoPs in SMEs in transition economies. The objective of this chapter is to develop a framework that could be applied to CoPs in transition economies. This chapter also identifies the factors that might limit the work of CoPs in the context of innovation in SMEs in transition economies.
Abstract as published in Organizational Knowledge Facilitation through Communities of Practice in Emerging Markets.
Practical implications
- According to the chapter, SMEs with limited financial and human resources can turn to communities of practice, informal groups of individuals sharing knowledge and experience, to help improve efficiency and productivity by using the organization’s knowledge resources.
- For SMEs located in transition economies, the chapter argues that the success of communities of practice depends to a certain extent on the social and cultural factors in transition economies.
- For SMEs in transition economies, the chapter offers a framework that could be applied to communities of practice, together with factors that might limit their work in the context of SME innovation.
Drawn from Vajjhala (2016), In Organizational Knowledge Facilitation through Communities of Practice in Emerging Markets, Advances in Knowledge Acquisition, Transfer, and Management, pp. 31–44, IGI Global.
When this research may be relevant
This chapter may be relevant to literature on communities of practice and knowledge sharing in small and medium enterprises, innovation in transition economies, and the influence of national and organisational culture on informal knowledge networks.
Research topics addressed: communities of practice; CoPs; knowledge management; knowledge sharing; SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; transition economies; national culture; organizational culture; innovation; conceptual framework
How to cite
- APA 7
- Vajjhala, N. R. (2016). Communities of Practice in Transition Economies: Innovation in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises. In Organizational Knowledge Facilitation through Communities of Practice in Emerging Markets (pp. 31–44). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0013-1.ch002
- MLA 9
- Vajjhala, Narasimha Rao. “Communities of Practice in Transition Economies: Innovation in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises.” Organizational Knowledge Facilitation through Communities of Practice in Emerging Markets, IGI Global, 2016, pp. 31–44. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0013-1.ch002.
- IEEE
- N. R. Vajjhala, “Communities of Practice in Transition Economies: Innovation in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises,” in Organizational Knowledge Facilitation through Communities of Practice in Emerging Markets. IGI Global, 2016, pp. 31–44, doi: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0013-1.ch002.
BibTeX
@incollection{vajjhala2016communities,
title = {Communities of Practice in Transition Economies: Innovation in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises},
author = {Vajjhala, Narasimha Rao},
booktitle = {Organizational Knowledge Facilitation through Communities of Practice in Emerging Markets},
series = {Advances in Knowledge Acquisition, Transfer, and Management},
pages = {31--44},
year = {2016},
publisher = {IGI Global},
doi = {10.4018/978-1-5225-0013-1.ch002},
url = {https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0013-1.ch002}
}RIS
TY - CHAP TI - Communities of Practice in Transition Economies: Innovation in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises AU - Vajjhala, Narasimha Rao T2 - Organizational Knowledge Facilitation through Communities of Practice in Emerging Markets T3 - Advances in Knowledge Acquisition, Transfer, and Management PY - 2016 DA - 2016 SP - 31 EP - 44 PB - IGI Global SN - 2326-7607 (print); 2326-7615 (electronic) DO - 10.4018/978-1-5225-0013-1.ch002 UR - https://www.narasimharao.net/research/communities-of-practice-transition-economies-sme-innovation/ LA - en ER -
Links and files
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0013-1.ch002
- This page as text: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/communities-of-practice-transition-economies-sme-innovation/paper.md
- Permanent address of this page: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/communities-of-practice-transition-economies-sme-innovation/
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