Table 1 Key documents identified by the literature review, focusing on elements and propositions relevant for the assessment of transnational CoPs in health policy
Authors | Year of publication | Reference | Sector of reference | Main dimension of focus | Key elements, findings and propositions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FRAMEWORKS FOR ASSESSING CoPs’ PERFORMANCE | |||||
Schenkel et al. | 2000 | [26] | Management | Performance of CoPs | Social network analysis. |
McDermott | 2002 | [27] | Business | Return On Investment (ROI) | Pyramidal framework, which starts from ‘activities’ at the base and moves upwards to ‘outputs’, ‘value’ and ‘business results’. |
Wenger et al. | 2002 | [5] | Business/Management | ROI | Simple method for calculating an approximate ROI value. |
Arora et al. | 2002 | [28] | Business | Performance of CoPs/ROI | Balanced scorecards. |
Millen & Fontaine | 2003 | [29] | Business | Performance of CoPs/ROI | Causal model for community interactions and benefits, which categorizes benefits into ‘individual/personal’, ‘community’ and ‘organizational’. |
Lee et al. | 2005 | [30] | Business/Management | KM performance/ROI | Complex, formalized method to calculate ROI for KM activities. |
Helms et al. | 2007 | [31] | Management | Performance of CoPs/ROI | Knowledge network analysis. |
Scarso et al. | 2009 | [24] | Business/Management | Success factors/ROI | Identifies two external influences (the organization’s own knowledge strategy and the context) and four internal/constitution characteristics of CoPs (organizational, cognitive, economic and technological dimensions) to explain the CoPs success (applied to the case of a multinational oil company). |
Braithwaite et al. | 2009 | [32] | Health | Performance of CoPs | Protocol presenting a methodology for the “development, design, testing, refinement, simulation and application of an evaluation framework for communities of practice and social-professional networks”. |
Wenger et al. | 2011 | [33] | Education | Assessing ‘value creation’ | A very detailed, comprehensive guide for promoting and assessing ‘value creation’ (a performance measure of the level of learning enabled) for CoPs and networks in the education sector. Includes a conceptual framework and practical methods and tools. |
Ranmuthugala et al. | 2011 | [34] | Health | Performance/role of CoPs | A second study protocol (following Braithwaite et al. 2009) proposing ‘realist evaluation’ combined with ‘social network analysis’ as a tool for the development of such a framework. Both protocols focus mainly on the application of CoPs to healthcare activities, specifically in Australia. |
ADB | 2011 | [35] | Development | Evaluation of KM strategies | Use of the DAC Criteria for Evaluating Development Assistance as a tool for assessing KM strategies. The DAC criteria are relevance, effectiveness, efficacy, sustainability and impact. |
LIMITATIONS OF CoPS | |||||
LeBaron | 2000 | [36] | Education | Limitation of CoPs | Cultural and social values of collaboration vs. individual success. |
Yanow | 2004 | [37] | Management | Limitations of CoPs/Hierarchies | Role of local vs. expert knowledge; distinction between horizontal, geographic periphery and a vertical, hierarchical periphery. |
Roberts | 2006 | [38] | Management | Limitation of CoPs | Power structures and hierarchies; time needed to evolve and mature; resistance to change. |
Kerno | 2008 | [39] | Management | Limitation of CoPs | Time constraints; organizational hierarchies; regional culture. |
ELEMENTS FOR THE SUCCESS OF CoPs | |||||
Johnson | 2001 | [40] | Education | Early research on virtual CoPs’ characteristics | Different levels of expertise; fluidity of knowledge flows (vs. withdrawal/attrition); community knowledge greater than individual knowledge; environment of safety and trust. |
Sveiby & Simons | 2002 | [41] | Management | Trust | Collaborative climate is one of the major factors influencing effectiveness of knowledge management. |
Levin et al. | 2004 | [42] | Management | Trust | Trust as essential for knowledge sharing. |
Wenger et al. | 2005 | [43] | Management | Use of ICT | Contribution of technologies to CoPs; new tools and challenges in the use of ICT; description of technologies the CoPs use to “create a sense of togetherness over time and across distances”. |
Bourhis et al. | 2005 | [25] | Management | Leadership | Role of the community leaders and coach to respond to challenges in a way adapted to the CoP characteristics (presenting empirical case studies). |
Cargill | 2006 | [44] | Management | Leadership | Role of leaders and leadership issues. |
Ardichvili et al. | 2006 | [45] | Management | Culture | Cultural influences and potential cultural barriers in knowledge sharing and participation. |
Usoro et al. | 2007 | [46] | Management | Trust | Trust as predictor of knowledge sharing behaviours. Trust is analysed across three dimensions: perceived competence, integrity and benevolence of the CoP. |
Kraut & Resnick | 2011 | [47] | Management | Use of ICT | Possible designs improving the success of online communities. |