Knowledge Transfer between Groups: Involvement in Networks of Practice and Operational Proximity

This paper aims at investigating the process of knowledge transfer and generation between professional groups in terms of opportunities of contact with networks of practice and operational proximity through an ethnography conducted in a hospital unit. Communities and networks of practice as tools for knowledge management have caught growing attention in organizational studies, leading to a view of organizations as ‘communities of communities of practice’ and crossroads of networks of practice. However, on one hand boundary relations between different communities and networks have not been deeply explored so far; on the other hand empirical evidence is still largely lacking, since knowledge remains a construct difficult to operationalize. The grounded theory presented supports the idea that sharing practices through day-by-day joint activities is the main vehicle for transferring knowledge between professional groups, thus bridging the gap between networks of practice characterized by different values and repertoires, whereas intense relations with networks of practice play a key role in injecting new knowledge into the organization. Positive implications of knowledge transfer and combination between professional groups are empirically shown. Finally this paper brings new insights on the role of information systems in knowledge flows and provides management with hints on how to promote knowledge diffusion in organizations.