It is rotating leaders who build the swarm: social network determinants of growth for healthcare virtual communities of practice

Abstract

Purpose This 7-year longitudinal study identifies factors influencing the growth of healthcare Virtual Communities of Practices (VCoPs) using metrics from social-network and semantic analysis. Studying online communication along the three dimensions of social interactions (connectivity, interactivity and language use) we aim to provide VCoPs managers with valuable insights to improve the success of their communities. Design/methodology/approach Communications over a period of 7 years (April 2008 to April 2015), and between 14,000 members of 16 different healthcare VCoPs coexisting on the same web-platform, were analyzed. Multilevel regression models were used to reveal the main determinants of community growth over time. Independent variables were derived from social network and semantic analysis measures. Findings Results show that structural and content-based variables predict the growth of the community. Progressively more people will join a community if: its structure is more centralized, leaders are more dynamic (they rotate more), and the language used in the posts is less complex. Research limitations/implications The available dataset included one web platform and a limited number of control variables. In order to consolidate the findings of the present study, the experiment should be replicated on other healthcare VCoPs. Originality/value The study provides useful recommendations for setting up and nurturing the growth of professional communities, considering at the same time the structure of the interaction patterns among community members, the dynamic evolution of these interactions and the use of language. New analytical tools are presented, together with the use of innovative interaction metrics which can significantly influence community growth, such as rotating leadership

Intensive care nurses on social media: An exploration of knowledge exchange on an intensive care virtual community of practice

“…The finding that a majority of online posts were from a minority of members is also consistent with previous research examining online participation, either directly via online observation (Morken et al, ; Rodriguez‐Recio & Sendra‐Portero, ; Stewart & Abidi, ) or indirectly via surveys (Rolls et al, ). This suggests the presence of a critical mass of experienced and expert members have developed vital community norms, thus ensuring the availability of high‐quality content (Antonacci et al, ; Barnett et al, ; Chang et al, ). These online practice norms include altruism, reciprocity, social interaction, knowledge sharing and trust (Antonacci et al, ; Kurtz‐Rossi, Rikard, & Mckinney, ).…”

“…The potential for a multi‐disciplinary VC to facilitate knowledge and clinical expertise exchange within professional networks and across organisations was demonstrated in these findings and supported by others (Currie & White, ; McGowan, ; Morken et al, ). ICUConnect established crucial weak ties and social network inter‐connectedness critical for exchange of best practice knowledge across a healthcare system (Antonacci et al, ; Rogers, ). High levels of participation by clinical leaders and experts were important for two reasons: a VCoP will continue to grow where there is valuable content contributed by community leaders (Antonacci et al, ) and demonstrates an external orientation required of organisational leaders for novel knowledge to be integrated into organisational practices (Greenhalgh, Robert, Bate, MacFarlane, & Kyriakidou, ).…”

“…While multi‐disciplinary virtual communities of practice (VCoP) have the potential to facilitate knowledge and clinical expertise exchange within professional networks and across organisations (Antonacci, Fronzetti, Stefanini, & Gloor, ; Currie & White, ; McGowan, ), their effectiveness in practice needs to be established. This article reports findings from a sequential mixed‐methods design that explored the nature of knowledge exchanged within an intensive care‐based virtual community (VC) in Australia, “ICUConnect.” The study formed part of a qualitatively driven multiple‐methods programme of research underpinned by pragmatism where three concurrent studies examined inter‐related aspects of the ICUConnect listserv: (a) the professional social network (Rolls, Hansen, Jackson & Elliott.…”

Successful knowledge management in high‐sociability organizations

“…Four examples to illustrate this category address startups (Oliva & Kotabe, ), health care (Kothari, Hovanec, Hastie, & Sibbald, ; Nicolini, Scarbrough, & Gracheva, ), and chief knowledge officers in French enterprises (Kimble & Bourdon, ). Virtual, networked culture organizations . Three examples explore a multinational virtual community of practice (Kimble & Hildreth, ), a multinational virtual community based on the exchange of sales/engineering knowledge (Gelin & Milusheva, ), and a health‐care virtual community (Antonacci, Fronzetti Colladon, Stefanini, & Gloor, ). Both types of organizations . In contrast to the above studies, a quantitative study of 223 individuals who participated in successful initiatives related to knowledge management and communities of practice cover both co‐located and virtual communities of practice (Jagasia, Baul, & Mallik, ).…”

“…Here the challenge to find the virtual equivalent of the water cooler was met with a combination of regular meetings using a shared web space with a manager who acted as an “animator” for the community. Echoing this observation, a seven‐year longitudinal study of virtual communities of practices in health care noted that a managed central meeting place—in this case, also a web platform—and the presence of an active and involved community leader contributed to the continued functioning of the community (Antonacci et al, ).…”