oir10.1108/oirOnline Information Review1468-4527Emerald Group Publishing Limited10.1108/14684520710747284e-reviewReviewcat-IKMInformation & knowledge managementcat-ICTInformation & communications technologycat-INTInternetcat-LISCLibrary & information sciencecat-CBMCollection building & managementcat-BIBBibliometricscat-DATDatabasescat-IBRTInformation behaviour & retrievalcat-RMPRecords management & preservationcat-DOCMDocument managementBook ReviewEncyclopedia of Communities of Practice in Information and Knowledge ManagementLan Anh TranVictoria University of Wellington170420073122442462007Edited by E. Coakes and S. Clarke. Encyclopedia of Communities of Practice in Information and Knowledge Management. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Reference 2006. 601 pp., ISBN: 1591405564 US$275.00 hard cover© Emerald Group Publishing Limited2007Knowledge management, Group work, Communicationpeer-reviewednoacademic-contentyesrightslinkincluded

Communities of practice (CoPs) have emerged as an important issue in the field of knowledge management (KM). As with KM, CoPs support people in communicating, collaborating and sharing their tacit knowledge in a specific work context. In the organisational world Wenger (2001) defines CoPs as a specific kind of community. These communities focus on a domain of knowledge and over time accumulate expertise in this domain. Additionally, these communities develop shared practice by interacting with problems, solutions and insights, and building a general collection of knowledge.

This encyclopaedia is the largest collection to date of practical examples and theoretical discussions from practitioners and academics on how CoPs can support organisations in both the public and private sectors. The examples and discussions are organised by seven major categories comprising more than 100 entries on many aspects of CoPs, from more than 130 contributors from all around the world.

Category 1 introduces the general concepts of CoPs in six sub‐categories: Classification and Critique; Formal Workgroups; Networking; The Strategic Advantages; Story‐Telling and Knowledge Transfer; and Language (and Symbol) Development in CoPs. Category 1 includes some extremely interesting discussions; for example, a chapter by Ahmah and Al‐Sayed demonstrates how language has been used within a medical community; and von Wartburg discusses the use of metaphors within figurative speech and the socialisation process within a community.

Category 2 focuses on the role of CoPs within the following areas: Virtual Communities; Complexity; The Business Environment; The Public Environment; Supporting Economic Development; and Knowledge Management in CoPs and Supply Chains. Here Teigland and Schenkel provide an article which analyses CoPs in association with economic development and regional innovation systems. In a similar vein Mason and Castleman discuss the knowledge management approaches of CoPs in promoting innovation and knowledge sharing, and their virtual equivalents that can create value for regional small and medium enterprises.

Category 3, probably the most eclectic grouping in the encyclopaedia, discusses the internal and organisational factors that have affected CoPs, and vice versa. Specifically, this category discusses 13 sub‐categories about the inter‐relationships between CoPs and organisational culture, ethics, leadership, project management, etc. Bellarby and Orange, based on research carried out within a British national voluntary counselling and advisory service, discuss the concepts of knowledge management and knowledge sharing through CoPs in the voluntary sector.

Category 4 discusses relationships between the role of communities and virtual teams. These discussions are arranged in four sub‐categories: Distinguishing between Work Groups, Teams, Knowledge Networks and Communities; Virtual Teaming; Vortals; and Teamwork Issues in Virtual Teams. Medeni discusses various social and psychological aspects in relation to creating virtual communities; these aspects are useful in the establishment of a community identity with various virtual and real aspects, as well as for transferring knowledge and experiences.

Category 5 focuses on the role of knowledge management within CoPs. This role is discussed in association with two sub‐categories: Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Communities. Additional sub‐categories cover virtual knowledge communities and the meaning of knowledge. Rodriguez et al. emphasise the importance of supporting knowledge flows in CoPs and provide a qualitative methodology for identifying such knowledge flows, including some examples from a case study on software maintenance. The concepts of tacit knowledge and knowledge management tools in CoPs in organisations are analysed by Zappavigna. She describes the potential of discourse as an analytical tool in order to understand the tacit components of participation in CoPs. This category includes additional interesting articles about malpractice in CoPs and related issues of knowledge sharing and knowledge communities.

Category 6 looks at another essential component of CoPs: Enabling Technology. This category focuses on the technology support for CoPs. It covers three sub‐categories: Software and Hardware for Community Work Support; Where Does Knowledge Management Software Fit; and Tool – Repositories, Modelling, Scenario Development and Analysis to Support and Capture CoP Activities. There are a number of articles in this category which discuss the technology and facilities needed for developing CoPs. Dotsika discusses the advantages and pitfalls of supporting computerised versions of these CoPs, and Ruhi presents a best‐practices model for utilising such technologies (software, hardware, etc.).

Category 7 contains seven articles that analyse philosophy and theory in association with CoPs. Of special note are Nobre's two articles: one considers the theory of psychoanalysis, organisations, and communities, exploring various dimensions of human actions within an organisational environment; the second considers the concepts of social philosophy, communities and the epistemic shifts within organisations.

This encyclopaedia represents a most comprehensive treatment CoPs. It can be considered the leading reference source in its field for students, managers and academics involved or interested in the field of CoPs for information and knowledge management in societies and organisations. The articles and discussions are well categorised, enabling readers to scan desired papers quickly and easily. Additionally, a comprehensive index helps readers find cross‐referenced articles. Furthermore, this compendium contains a variety of keywords, definitions, concepts, processes and acronyms, and thousands of useful references on CoPs in information and knowledge management.

Readers can find an introduction to and detailed description of this encyclopaedia at: www.idea‐group.com/reference/

ReferencesWenger, E. (2001), Supporting Communities of Practice: A Survey of Community‐oriented Technologies, version 1.3. Available at: www.ewenger.com/tech.