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Quantum phenomena in Communities of Practice

Author

Listed:
  • R. Ribeiro

    (CS-YORK - Department of Computer Science [York] - University of York [York, UK])

  • Chris Kimble

    (Euromed Marseille - École de management - Association Euromed Management - Marseille, CREGOR - Centre de Recherche sur la Gestion des Organisations - UM2 - Université Montpellier 2 - Sciences et Techniques)

  • P. Cairns

    (CS-YORK - Department of Computer Science [York] - University of York [York, UK])

Abstract

Although Communities of Practice have become a core concept in understanding how knowledge is managed within organizations, there have been few studies of the praxis of formation of Communities of Practice. In this article, we report on a Grounded Theory study of the members of a previously identified Community of Practice within the UK Higher Education Academy Psychology Network. In addition to providing data on the functioning of the community, the study also revealed a hitherto unrecognized form of community that exhibits all of the characteristics of CoPs yet has only a transient existence that seems to nucleate around an existing core community. Drawing on the metaphor of quantum behaviour, we termed these communities Quantum Communities of Practice. We describe a theory to explain this phenomenon that is grounded in the data from the study. We conclude by discussing the value and validity of our findings and methodology and indicating the next steps we will take in our research.

Suggested Citation

  • R. Ribeiro & Chris Kimble & P. Cairns, 2010. "Quantum phenomena in Communities of Practice," Post-Print halshs-00487371, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00487371
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2009.11.003
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00487371
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John Seely Brown & Paul Duguid, 2001. "Knowledge and Organization: A Social-Practice Perspective," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 198-213, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chris Kimble, 2010. "Building effective virtual teams: How to overcome the problems of trust and identity in virtual teams," Post-Print halshs-00550219, HAL.

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