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Advances in Developing Human Resources
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Wenger's Communities of Practice Revisited: A (Failed?) Exercise in Applied Communities of Practice Theory-Building Research

Julia Storberg-Walker

North Carolina State Univeristy, 310 Poe Hall, Box 7801, Raleigh NC 27695,Julia_swalker{at}ncsu.edu

The problem and the solution. Multiple sources describe how communities of practice (CoPs) work and what their constituent elements may be. These contributions offer valuable insights into learning, meaning, identity, and practice. However,they do not explicitly take recognized theory-building steps (R. Dubin, 1978; R. J.Torraco, 2005) to develop an applied theory of CoPs that researchers can test, apply, and adapt. One solution is to submit CoPs to an applied theory-building research critique. This article reviews the analytical components of E. Wenger's (1998) abstract theory with the intent to specify each component and move the components down the ladder of abstraction.The intent of this critique is to move Wenger's (1998) theory toward an operationalized format for confirmation, application, and continual refinement.After the theory-building research analysis, it was found that the 13 analytical elements of Wenger's CoP contribution did not withstand the theory-building research critique in level of analysis or definitional clarity. Recommendations for future CoP applied theory-building research are provided.

Key Words: community of practice • theory building • conceptual development

Advances in Developing Human Resources, Vol. 10, No. 4, 555-577 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1523422308319541
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