From Repositories of Best Practices to Networks of Best Practices

Abstract

The paper refers to the development of online "networks of best practices" as mechanisms for the sharing of practical knowledge and the support of collaboration among business enterprises. The traditional approach in the transfer of best practices considers best practices as any other piece of information that can be stored and processed in electronic repositories/databases. However, practical knowledge cannot be as easily managed and transferred as information, because it needs social context and interaction. Based on the premise that best practices are practical knowledge ("know-how") that describes how to better implement some business processes and ideas, we elaborate on the literature of communities and networks of practice, in order to find out ways that facilitate the sharing of practical knowledge among business enterprises. By analyzing the purpose and the features of these structures of practice sharing, we argue that best practice forums can be developed as online networks of practice, which we call "networks of best practices". We propose initial design principles for this endeavor and analyze the expected benefits.