Knowledge Creation in Cross-Border and Cross-Sectoral Collaborations : Exploring EU Externally Funded Security Research and Innovation Projects as Communities of Practice

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore how knowledge creation in EU externally funded security Research and Innovation (R&I) projects can be understood through the concept of community of practice (CoP). A multiple case study design was used to examine EU R&I projects with the Wenger’s identity-practice framework that characterizes conventional CoPs. Qualitative data analysis was conducted based on rich empirical data collected during June 2015 – July 2017. The results of the study suggested that the EU R&I project consortium is a knowledge community in its own right, which knowledge creation cannot be fully understood if analysed as traditional project organizations. CoP framework can provide a meaningful way to investigate how explicit and tacit knowledge is created and shared within a project consortium and across different consortiums. Namely the engagement in different phases of the work undertaken by the project consortium can help to understand how the socialization facilitate s knowledge creation and transfers, as well as identity development as the project evolves. As a whole, CoP theory can provide new insight in the knowledge creation in cross-border and cross-sectoral collaborations. It can provide a meaningful way to explore how the knowledge is emerged through a practice in project consortiums before, during, and after the projects.