Wenger, E., R. A. McDermott, et al. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: a guide to managing knowledge. Boston, Mass., Harvard Business School Press.
This is a practical book that outlines models and methods for developing communities of practice-- 'groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis' (p. 4). The first author Wenger (Wenger and Lave 1991) originally developed the idea of communities of practice through an analysis of situated learning, and the concept is now widely used within the context of knowledge management. The book discusses the value of communities of practices for organizations, principles for developing communities of practice, various stages of development and limitations to communities of practice, and community-based knowledge initiatives, amongst other practical topics. The book also shows how different companies have used communities of practice to drive strategy, generate new business opportunities, solve problems, transfer best practices, develop employees' professional skills, and recruit and retain top talent, drawing on examples from DaimlerChrysler, McKinsey & Company, Shell, and the World Bank. The main research methods used in this book are case studies and interviews.