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Article of Volume 10, Issue 2, June 2015
The impact of hierarchical positions on communities of learning
Authors: Martin Rehm, Wim Gijselaers, Mien Segers
Abstract: Communities of Learning (CoL) are an innovative methodological tool to stimulate knowledge creation and diffusion within organizations. However, past research has largely overlooked how participants’ hierarchical positions influence their behavior within CoL. We address this shortcoming and provide empirical evidence on 25 CoL for a global training program, analyzing user statistics from 249 staff members. Our results indicate that participants’ level of activity and performance are significantly influenced by their hierarchical position. We also discover a duality among participants holding low hierarchical positions. The implications of these results and future research avenues are discussed.
Keywords: Communities of learning, Content analysis, Hierarchical positions, Learning in organizations
Citation: Rehm, M., Gijselaers, W., & Segers, M. (2015) The impact of hierarchical positions on communities of learning. ijcscl 10 (2), pp. 117-138
DOI: 10.1007/s11412-014-9205-8
Preprint: rehm_gijselaers_segers_10_2.pdf
About this article at link.springer.com [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11412-014-9205-8] including a link to the official electronic version.