Guidelines to Align Communities of Practice with Business Objectives: An Application of Social Media

Abstract

Communities of Practice (CoP) have long been considered a powerful Knowledge Management mechanism. CoP however, are often viewed independent of organizational goals and structures. CoP are known for knowledge sharing and learning. In this paper we argue that CoP supported by social media have great potential to contribute to business objectives. This investigation is an embedded case study that includes 54 CoP within a prominent Engineering multinational firm. The investigation explores the extent to which the 54 CoP contribute to business objectives. The paper's contribution is in providing five guidelines for practice that outline how CoP can be best designed to contribute to business objectives and how social media can serve as the vehicle through which to execute those guidelines.