Exercise1 Ardichvili: Learning and Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Communities of Practice: Motivators, Barriers, and Enablers

In “Learning and Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Communities of Practice: Motivators, Barriers, and Enablers,” Ardichvili (2008) explains that communities of practice (CoPs) are becoming more popular as a knowledge management strategy in many large corporations. The early literature on CoPs was focused on communities that could meet face-to-face, but as technology has advanced and workforces have become more geographically dispersed, virtual CoPs (VCoPs) have become more common. Unfortunately, there is a limited understanding of what drives knowledge sharing in VCoPs.

Ardichvili reviews the existing literature on VCoPs, which includes research about why an individual might choose to share or hoard their knowledge, how cultural differences can impact participation in a VCoPs, and how organizations can create an environment that fosters VCoPs. He brings together concepts from the literature in a proposed framework that includes three sections: motivating factors, barriers, and enablers. The purpose of this framework is to offer some concrete suggestions for HRD professionals tasked with cultivating VCoPs in their organizations. Highlights of each part of the framework are paraphrased below:

MOTIVATING FACTORS

• Personal benefits: status enhancement, career advancement, emotional benefits, intellectual benefits, material gain (linked to compensation
• Community-related considerations: establishing ties with others, building a stronger community, guarding against external threats
• Normative considerations: shared values and vision, conformity, reciprocity

BARRIERS

• Interpersonal: fear of criticism or misleading others
• Procedural: lack of clarity on how to share, lack of clarity on what can be shared
• Technological: lack of technical aptitude or resistance to technology
• Cultural: saving face, modesty, power distance

ENABLERS

• Supportive corporate culture: supportive leadership
• Trust: institutional and knowledge-based
• Tools

VCoPs are especially interesting to me and I work with them daily, so I have some thoughts from my own experience! But I am eager to hear from others first.  I’ll offer up these two questions for discussion:

Question 1: If your workplace currently has virtual communities of practice, please describe the barriers, enablers, or motivating factors that you feel have the greatest impact on participation in those communities. Provide examples if possible. OR Imagine that you are going to implement virtual communities of practice in your workplace. Given what you know about the leadership, values, and organizational culture of your workplace, what potential barriers, enablers, or motivating factors might have the greatest influence on your new VCoPs? How would you address these to foster knowledge sharing in the VCoPs?

Question 2: As you consider the barriers, enablers, and motivating factors listed in the article, do you think any of them might be different today than when this article was written in 2008? Do you think any of them are more important, less important, or obsolete today, or are there any additional factors that might be relevant to our current understanding of VCoPs in 2021?