Growing Pains: A case study on the evolution of a Community of Practice in a rapidly-growing software company

dc.contributorAalto Universityen
dc.contributorAalto-yliopistofi
dc.contributor.advisorLehtonen, Miikka
dc.contributor.authorLiang, Xia
dc.contributor.authorJanes, Ian
dc.contributor.departmentJohtamisen laitosfi
dc.contributor.schoolKauppakorkeakoulufi
dc.contributor.schoolSchool of Businessen
dc.date.accessioned2019-07-21T16:07:27Z
dc.date.available2019-07-21T16:07:27Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractThe study is concerned with how social learning and more specifically a Community of Practice underpinning a critical business function has adapted in the fact of rapid growth, and with it, significant changes within the case company. Communities of Practice was chosen after a review of other theories, namely organizational learning and organizational knowledge creation, concluded that they were less equipped to explain the nature of the case company’s service model. The study evaluated the three criteria of a Community of Practice (domain, community, practice) and asks separately of each whether, after prolonged periods of growth, it can still be said that a Community of Practice is enabling learning in the case company. The study uses a methodology drawing on multiple data sources, primary among them being nine semi-structured interviews with employees of the case company, supplemented with graphic elicitation to help interviewees express concepts that are otherwise difficult to verbalize, and wide-ranging access to internal, archival data from the case company. From the initial interviews, 15 frequently-raised concepts were identified. Following Gioia, Corley and Hamilton (2013), these concepts were in turn clustered into six second-order themes, which in turn formed three broad dichotomies aligning with domain, community, and practice. When paired with previous examinations of typologies with Communities of Practice, the study found that, though it could be said that the criteria were still satisfied, growth had created internal conflicts or misalignments that threatened to undermine the Community of Practice. For example, it was no longer entirely true that learning needs were shared within the Community of Practice; increased reliance on virtualized communication channels was making it more difficult for social bonds to form; cognitive overload had a negative impact on knowledge-sharing; and there was a risk of over-management stifling innovation within the Community of Practice. The overall finding about growth creating tension as a result of changing characteristics in the Community of Practice was significant, insofar as previous descriptions of typologies in Communities of Practice tended to treat various characteristics as independent variables, while the study concludes that a well-functioning Community of Practice will benefit from some characteristics over others, and that alignment between such features is needed.en
dc.format.extent74
dc.identifier.urihttps://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/39359
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:fi:aalto-201907214421
dc.language.isoenen
dc.locationP1 Ifi
dc.programmeInternational Design Business Managementen
dc.relation.hasversionThis thesis is a co-operation with Ian Janes. https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/39358
dc.subject.keywordcommunities of practiceen
dc.subject.keywordgrowthen
dc.subject.keywordsocial learningen
dc.subject.keywordorganizational knowledgeen
dc.titleGrowing Pains: A case study on the evolution of a Community of Practice in a rapidly-growing software companyen
dc.typeG2 Pro gradu, diplomityöfi
dc.type.ontasotMaster's thesisen
dc.type.ontasotMaisterin opinnäytefi
local.aalto.electroniconlyyes
local.aalto.openaccessno

Files