Despite increasing investment in building, supporting, and managing communities of practice (CoPs) that meet the strategic business needs of the organization, the literature indicates that little is known about strategic CoPs in organizational work settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among participants’ characteristics, perceptions, nature of involvement, and outcomes in CoPs which are highly structured for strategic purposes.
Two strategic CoPs in an electric utility company that provides services in the United States were selected for this study. Multiple regression analyses of an online survey showed that participants’ perceptions were related to the nature of involvement in CoP. Level of involvement in CoP was shown to be related to participant outcomes, and time of involvement was shown to be related to learning from the CoP. Results of a qualitative content analysis of interviews with CoP leaders, coaches, and members assisted in interpreting the results of the quantitative data analysis and identified four CoP outcomes: gaining job-related information, solving problems at work, experiencing changes in affect, and communicating across the organization. Implications for future research and practice of CoPs in the HRD field were provided.