ERIC Number: EJ860470
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0969-6474
EISSN: N/A
Experiencing Collaborative Knowledge Creation Processes
Jakubik, Maria
Learning Organization, v15 n1 p5-25 2008
Purpose: How people learn and create knowledge together through interactions in communities of practice (CoPs) is not fully understood. The purpose of this paper is to create and apply a model that could increase participants' consciousness about knowledge creation processes. Design/methodology/approach: This four-month qualitative research was conducted as action research (AR). Data were collected through participative inquiry. Findings: Drawing on current developments in the knowledge creation theory of knowledge management (KM) and taking the collaborative learning approach (CLA), the model of collaborative knowledge creation process (CKCP) is constructed and applied. It brings structure into highly unstructured human processes of knowledge creation and helps participants to understand what they are doing and why. Research limitations/implications: It is difficult to assess the quality, validity and objectivity of the data as the researcher was a member of the community. Further research could address the role of diversity and social context, and the formation of the community identity. Practical implications: Members of this specific community (i.e. managers, teachers, students, and experts) reflected that the implemented way of learning helped them to realize the importance of interactions, exchanges, and collective experiences in community knowledge creation. Originality/value: Applying AR is rather exceptional in KM. However, it proved to be a good way of experiencing knowledge creation processes in communities. The novelty of the study is in contributing to the KM theory by opening the black box of community knowledge creation by demonstrating in practice how people interacted and created knowledge in a specific community.
Descriptors: Knowledge Management, Action Research, Social Environment, Communities of Practice, Models, Cooperative Learning, Participatory Research, Organizational Development, Human Resources, Staff Development, Training, Organizational Effectiveness, Business, Organizational Climate, Training Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A