Diversity of Perception of the Dynamics between Collective Identity and Innovation in Communities in Practice

The paper explores how the collective identity of a community of practice contributes to the development of innovation capacity. Specifically, we question how members' perception of collective identity influences their perception of individual and collective capacity to innovate, whether different dynamics are at work between collective identity and innovation capacity, and finally how individual factors can explain these different dynamics. Empirically, we studied the communities of practice at Schneider Electric, a world leading company in energy management and automation. We surveyed 672 members of communities of practice in order to understand their relationship to their community. Our findings highlight the relationship between the perception of CoP collective identity and innovation capacity and suggest that (1) the three dimensions of collective identity play a role on members' perception of knowledge sharing and CoP contribution to innovation capacity and also that (2) this influence may act differently depending on members' profiles.