Purpose – Since its introduction, the notion of Communities of Practice (CoPs) has gained immediate popularity, especially among Knowledge Management scholars. The paper aims at reviewing the past and discussing what has been done. In particular the purposes are: to assess the importance of CoPs in the KM literature; to trace how this notion is defined and used, both in practical and theoretical terms; to classify the approaches used by KM research on CoPs; to discuss the results that research and practice in CoPs have led so far, the open issues, and the potential role of this notion in a future KM research agenda. Design/methodology/approach – The paper illustrates and discusses the findings of a systematic literature review on CoPs focusing on papers published in the most influential Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital Journals. Findings – The study analyses 82 articles published in 12 different KM and IC leading journals from 1997 to 2012. Each article was examined to determine the following...
['Ettore Bolisani', 'Enrico Scarso']
The place of communities of practice in knowledge management studies: a critical review