The Organizational Embeddedness of Communities of Practice : Exploring the Cultural and Leadership Dynamics of Self-organized Practice

This dissertation uncovers how informal and self-organized communities of practice as a source of learning and adaptability are embedded in their formal organizational surroundings. Based on an interpretative case study of three communities of practice within the German Federal Armed Forces, the author theorizes this embeddedness as shaped through cultural dynamics and leadership processes. In particular, the author draws on a practice lens and complexity leadership theory in explaining how communities of practice generate new resources (i.e., adaptability), produce and reproduce broader socio-cultural structures, and are enabled as well as influenced by formal leadership. The Author Benjamin Schulte is a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Technology and Innovation Management at the Helmut Schmidt University – University of the German Federal Armed Forces. He examines the micro-processes and dynamics of organizational adaptability and innovativeness, mostly utilizing qualitative research methods and a practice lens viewpoint. In particular, he currently studies how adaptive and innovative practices such as the lean startup method are introduced, translated, and embedded in the broader socio-cultural and institutional context of established bureaucratic organizations. His research has been published in the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies and the IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.