To shape practice act on theories

Authors

  • Matteo Bonifacio
  • Chiara Zini

Keywords:

communities of practice, situated learning, cognition, knowledge management, organizational learning, theory of action

Abstract

Practice based studies have provided rich descriptions of knowledge dynamics. On the other hand, they led to conceptualizations that question the possibility to view knowledge as a resource that can be oriented and shaped by managers. From this perspective, questions such as why an existing community has developed, or how to enable the emergence of a new community, are still unanswered. Such weaknesses are rooted in a tendency to ignore the cognitive motivations (theories) that lead actors to behave in a particular way. As a consequence, we propose that social practice can be explained as the outcome of interlocking cognitive theories and, moreover, that to shape practice, we need to act on theories.

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Published

1 Apr 2005

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2005)

Section

Articles

License

Open Access Publishing

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