MANAGING KNOWLEDGE: SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UK AND POLAND

This paper reports the findings from an extensive study of small social organizations. The study included 10 groups from England and Poland. 31 individuals, representing a mixture of locally operating social enterprises and organizations, were interviewed and the transcripts analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Altruistic and other forms of motivation, situated learning and other forms of knowledge management and transfer were investigated.

The research hypothesis was that qualitative analysis techniques could reveal the motivation to form, join, participate in, and lead these communities of practice (CoPs), and evaluate the knowledge transfer techniques occurring.

The aim was to probe and evaluate these processes qualitatively, using IPA techniques on CoPs operating with widely differing technical purposes, in differing cultures. The results demonstrate that situated learning and knowledge management were clearly apparent. Knowledge transfer was evident, and a transition from legitimate peripheral participation to mature leadership was often seen. This was especially evident for management skills, and their operationalization in these organizations.

There are many similarities between the Polish and UK organizations, despite clear cultural differences. The country of operation, and the “technical” purposes of the organizations, although very different, did not greatly influence the mechanisms of knowledge management or transfer reported.

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