Knowledge Preservation Through Community of Practice ― Theoretical Issues and Empirical Evidence

This book links knowledge management literature and information systems research to explore the process of knowledge preservation within a community of practice. It contributes to existing literature in different ways. First, it provides a conceptualization of the “community knowledge preservation” process. In contrast to previous knowledge management research, knowledge preservation is thus viewed as a process in its own right rather than an integral part of knowledge creation and sharing. Furthermore, the book also investigates how communities of practice preserve knowledge, by identifying the main mechanisms and tools enabling members to select, store and actualize the explicit and tacit forms of collective knowledge. More in general, the book presents guidance on how to use communities of practice to ensure the preservation of knowledge in development processes, for individuals and organizations alike.

Rocco Agrifoglio PhD is Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at "Parthenope" University of Naples, Italy. He has earned his PhD in Management and Business Administration from the same university and has also been a visiting scholar at University of Westminster, London, UK. His primary research interests are in technology acceptance and usage, as well as its effects on individual and organizational performance, community of practice, and e-court. He has participated as speaker in several international conferences, including Mediterranean Conference of Information Systems (MICIS), European Group of Organizational Studies (EGOS) and the Conference of the Italian Chapter of AIS (ItAIS). He has published numerous papers in journals, including Journal of Computer Information Systems (JCIS) and International Journal of Technology Management (IJTM).