Alice Paulos - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Alice Paulos

The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainabl... more The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Such innovation is supported by the generation of new ideas, which in turn depends on access to new knowledge. Innovative solutions and processes are unlikely to be developed by an individual but rather by a group of people, working together. As Newell et al. (2006) point out, innovation depends on managing knowledge transfer and situated learning (Lave and Wenger 1991). One group of people that share and create new knowledge is a Community of Practice (CoP). Communities of Practice are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning. This encourages knowledge creation and acquisition, thus improving organizational performance, leveraging innovation and consequently increasing competitiveness. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both tim...

As comunidades de prática constituem um espaço privilegiado de interacção entre os seus membros, ... more As comunidades de prática constituem um espaço privilegiado de interacção entre os seus membros, promovendo a aprendizagem e a partilha de conhecimento. Sendo esta última uma condição crítica de sucesso para a promoção da inovação, revela-se, pois, crucial, compreender os factores organizacionais que poderão condicionar esta partilha, inibindo-a ou potenciando-a. Assim, nesta comunicação começa-se por evidenciar a evolução do conceito de comunidade de prática (CdP), o seu modo de funcionamento e as suas características, dando-se algum enfoque às comunidades mediadas através de dispositivos electrónicos – as e-CdP ou comunidades digitais. Segue-se a descrição de alguns dos factores que podem condicionar a partilha de conhecimento. Apresentam-se, também, os benefícios e os inconvenientes das CdP para as organizações, bem como algumas recomendações para que estas possam usufruir do potencial relacionado com aquelas comunidades no sentido de promoverem o respectivo sucesso e a inovação.

Paper accepted for the OKLC 2009 - International Conference on Organizational Learning, Knowledge... more Paper accepted for the OKLC 2009 - International Conference on Organizational Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities (26-28th, April 2009, Amsterdam, the Netherlands).

With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business e... more With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business environments are going through a major transformation and firms have intensified their search for strategies which can give them competitive advantage. This requires that companies continuously innovate, to think of new ideas that can be transformed or implemented as products, processes or services, generating value for the firm. Innovative solutions and processes are usually developed by a group of people, working together. A grouping of people that share and create new knowledge can be considered as a Community of Practice (CoP). CoP's are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning and encourage knowledge creation and acquisition. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP's) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space. Nevertheless, it is known that not all CoP's and VCoP's share the same levels of performance or produce the same results. This means that there are factors that enable or constrain the process of knowledge creation. With this in mind, we developed a case study in order to identify both the motivations and the constraints that members of an organization experience when taking part in the knowledge creating processes of VCoP's.

Projectics / Proyéctica / Projectique, 2010

Communities of Practice are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning, enabl... more Communities of Practice are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning, enabling knowledge creation and acquisition thus improving organizational performance, leveraging innovation and consequently increasing competitively. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP"s) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space.

The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainabl... more The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Such innovation is supported by the generation of new ideas, which in turn depends on access to new knowledge. Innovative solutions and processes are unlikely to be developed by an individual but rather by a group of people, working together. As point out, innovation depends on managing knowledge transfer and situated learning (Lave and Wenger 1991). One group of people that share and create new knowledge is a Community of Practice (CoP). Communities of Practice are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning. This encourages knowledge creation and acquisition, thus improving organizational performance, leveraging innovation and consequently increasing competitiveness. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space (Bradshaw et al. 2004).

As comunidades de prática constituem um espaço privilegiado de interacção entre os seus membros, ... more As comunidades de prática constituem um espaço privilegiado de interacção entre os seus membros, promovendo a aprendizagem e a partilha de conhecimento. Sendo esta última uma condição crítica de sucesso para a promoção da inovação, revela-se, pois, crucial, compreender os factores organizacionais que poderão condicionar esta partilha, inibindo-a ou potenciando-a. Assim, nesta comunicação começa-se por evidenciar a evolução do conceito de comunidade de prática (CdP), o seu modo de funcionamento e as suas características, dando-se algum enfoque às comunidades mediadas através de dispositivos electrónicos -as e-CdP ou comunidades digitais. Segue-se a descrição de alguns dos factores que podem condicionar a partilha de conhecimento. Apresentam-se, também, os benefícios e os inconvenientes das CdP para as organizações, bem como algumas recomendações para que estas possam usufruir do potencial relacionado com aquelas comunidades no sentido de promoverem o respectivo sucesso e a inovação.

With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business e... more With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business environments are going through a major transformation and firms have intensified their search for strategies which can give them competitive advantage. This requires that companies continuously innovate, to think of new ideas that can be transformed into products, processes or services, generating value for the firm. Innovative solutions and processes are usually developed by a group of people, working together. A grouping of people that share and create new knowledge can be considered as a Community of Practice (CoP). CoPs are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning and encourage knowledge creation and acquisition. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space. Nevertheless, it is known that not all CoPs and VCoPs share the same levels of performance or produce the same results. This means that there are factors that enable or constrain the process of knowledge creation. With this in mind, we developed a case study in order to identify both the motivations and the constraints that members of an organization experience when taking part in the knowledge creating processes of VCoPs. Results show that organizational culture and professional and personal development play important roles in these processes. No interviewee mentioned direct financial reward as a motivation factor for participation in VCoPs. Most identified the difficulty in aligning objectives, established by the management, with justification of the time spent in the VCoP. The interviewees also said that technology is not a constraint.

The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainabl... more The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Such innovation is supported by the generation of new ideas, which in turn depends on access to new knowledge. Innovative solutions and processes are unlikely to be developed by an individual but rather by a group of people, working together. As point out, innovation depends on managing knowledge transfer and situated learning (Lave and Wenger 1991). One group of people that share and create new knowledge is a Community of Practice (CoP). Communities of Practice are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning. This encourages knowledge creation and acquisition, thus improving organizational performance, leveraging innovation and consequently increasing competitiveness. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space (Bradshaw et al. 2004).

With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business e... more With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business environments are going through a major transformation and firms have intensified their search for strategies which can give them competitive advantage. This requires that companies continuously innovate, to think of new ideas that can be transformed or implemented as products, processes or services, generating value for the firm. Innovative solutions and processes are usually developed by a group of people, working together. A grouping of people that share and create new knowledge can be considered as a Community of Practice (CoP). CoP’s are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning and encourage knowledge creation and acquisition. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP's) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space. Nevertheless, it is known that not all CoP's and VCoP's share the same levels of performance or produce the same results. This means that there are factors that enable or constrain the process of knowledge creation. With this in mind, we developed a case study in order to identify both the motivations and the constraints that members of an organization experience when taking part in the knowledge creating processes of VCoP's.

Results show that organizational culture and professional and personal development play an important role in these processes. No interviewee referred to direct financial rewards as a motivation factor for participation in VCoPs. Most identified the difficulty in aligning objectives established by the management with justification for the time spent in the VCoP. The interviewees also said that technology is not a constraint.

Projectics / Proyéctica / Projectique, 2010

The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainabl... more The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Such innovation is supported by the generation of new ideas, which in turn depends on access to new knowledge. Innovative solutions and processes are unlikely to be developed by an individual but rather by a group of people, working together. As point out, innovation depends on managing knowledge transfer and situated learning (Lave and Wenger 1991). One group of people that share and create new knowledge is a Community of Practice (CoP). Communities of Practice are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning. This encourages knowledge creation and acquisition, thus improving organizational performance, leveraging innovation and consequently increasing competitiveness. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space (Bradshaw et al. 2004).

As comunidades de prática constituem um espaço privilegiado de interacção entre os seus membros, ... more As comunidades de prática constituem um espaço privilegiado de interacção entre os seus membros, promovendo a aprendizagem e a partilha de conhecimento. Sendo esta última uma condição crítica de sucesso para a promoção da inovação, revela-se, pois, crucial, compreender os factores organizacionais que poderão condicionar esta partilha, inibindo-a ou potenciando-a. Assim, nesta comunicação começa-se por evidenciar a evolução do conceito de comunidade de prática (CdP), o seu modo de funcionamento e as suas características, dando-se algum enfoque às comunidades mediadas através de dispositivos electrónicos -as e-CdP ou comunidades digitais. Segue-se a descrição de alguns dos factores que podem condicionar a partilha de conhecimento. Apresentam-se, também, os benefícios e os inconvenientes das CdP para as organizações, bem como algumas recomendações para que estas possam usufruir do potencial relacionado com aquelas comunidades no sentido de promoverem o respectivo sucesso e a inovação.

With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business e... more With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business environments are going through a major transformation and firms have intensified their search for strategies which can give them competitive advantage. This requires that companies continuously innovate, to think of new ideas that can be transformed into products, processes or services, generating value for the firm. Innovative solutions and processes are usually developed by a group of people, working together. A grouping of people that share and create new knowledge can be considered as a Community of Practice (CoP). CoPs are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning and encourage knowledge creation and acquisition. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space. Nevertheless, it is known that not all CoPs and VCoPs share the same levels of performance or produce the same results. This means that there are factors that enable or constrain the process of knowledge creation. With this in mind, we developed a case study in order to identify both the motivations and the constraints that members of an organization experience when taking part in the knowledge creating processes of VCoPs. Results show that organizational culture and professional and personal development play important roles in these processes. No interviewee mentioned direct financial reward as a motivation factor for participation in VCoPs. Most identified the difficulty in aligning objectives, established by the management, with justification of the time spent in the VCoP. The interviewees also said that technology is not a constraint.

The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainabl... more The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Such innovation is supported by the generation of new ideas, which in turn depends on access to new knowledge. Innovative solutions and processes are unlikely to be developed by an individual but rather by a group of people, working together. As point out, innovation depends on managing knowledge transfer and situated learning (Lave and Wenger 1991). One group of people that share and create new knowledge is a Community of Practice (CoP). Communities of Practice are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning. This encourages knowledge creation and acquisition, thus improving organizational performance, leveraging innovation and consequently increasing competitiveness. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space (Bradshaw et al. 2004).

With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business e... more With accelerated market volatility, faster response times and increased globalization, business environments are going through a major transformation and firms have intensified their search for strategies which can give them competitive advantage. This requires that companies continuously innovate, to think of new ideas that can be transformed or implemented as products, processes or services, generating value for the firm. Innovative solutions and processes are usually developed by a group of people, working together. A grouping of people that share and create new knowledge can be considered as a Community of Practice (CoP). CoP’s are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning and encourage knowledge creation and acquisition. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP's) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both time and space. Nevertheless, it is known that not all CoP's and VCoP's share the same levels of performance or produce the same results. This means that there are factors that enable or constrain the process of knowledge creation. With this in mind, we developed a case study in order to identify both the motivations and the constraints that members of an organization experience when taking part in the knowledge creating processes of VCoP's.