Sharing knowledge in universities: communities of practice the answer?

Abstract

The change from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy forced many organizations to change their modus operandi if they were going to survive in a sustainable way. The introduction of communities of practice (CoPs) by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger shed new light on knowledge sharing and dissemination of information. Sharing, interacting, actively participating, collaborating and learning from one another become the central activities in a knowledge society.

CoPs are everywhere. We all belong to a number of them – at work, at school, universities, at home and in our hobbies. In this sense everyone has experienced a CoP so it can be considered a common experience. Some have a name, some do not. We are core members of some and we belong to others more peripherally. CoPs are informal, naturally occurring, spontaneously evolving groups and the sense of community comes from defining them in terms of practice.

A survey was conducted amongst academics in the Faculty of Management, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, to investigate how participants in CoPs experience knowledge sharing or lack thereof. The results of the survey and recommendations for the management of CoPs will be presented.

Keywords:

• knowledge sharing
• communities of practice
• higher education
• universities