Comparing communities of practice of private and public organizations

There is an increasing interest in KM programs carried on in public organizations. Considering the specificities of such organizations compared to private companies, it is often assumed that KM practices in these different sectors must differ. However, this is still a debated issue, and little evidence has been published. In particular, an increasing number of public services is implementing Communities of Practice (CoPs), that are often a core part of KM programs, especially in large private corporations where they are generally adopted as means to promote the sharing of knowledge among scattered units, to overcome internal barriers and to boost innovation and collective learning. The paper aims at analysing to what extent the experience of private sectors can be transferred to public services. The study compares 4 different cases of large communities of practice, carried on in public and private organizations, on the basis on four dimensions of analysis as suggested in previous studies: organizational, cognitive, economic, and technological dimension. Similarities and differences of the four cases are highlighted, with the purpose to examine implications for research on KM in public services, and for the management of CoPs in public organizations.