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5 Knowledge Sharing and Communities of Practice

Knowledge exists to be imparted.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)

This chapter addresses the social nature of knowledge, knowledge sharing, and com-
munities of practice (CoP). A number of important conceptual frameworks are pre-
sented to study the social construction of meaning. Knowledge-sharing groups such
as communities of practice are situated in a historical context and their evolution in
organizations is described with particular emphasis on the development of social
capital. Techniques and technologies such as social networks are presented as means
of visualizing and analyzing knowledge fl ows during knowledge-sharing activities and
some common barriers to knowledge sharing are described. The dimensions of social
presence and media richness are introduced as a means of characterizing knowledge-
sharing channels.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the key components of a community of practice.
2. Outline the major phases in the life cycle of a community and the corresponding
information and knowledge management (KM) needs for each.
3. Defi ne the major roles and responsibilities in a community of practice, with
particular emphasis on the integration of library and information professionals ’
skills.
4. Characterize knowledge-sharing channels with respect to the dimensions of social
presence and media richness.
5. Analyze the fl ow of knowledge in a community of practice using appropriate tools
and techniques to identify enablers and obstacles to knowledge sharing.