We present a detailed model of collaboration in communities of practice and we examine its dynamical consequences for the group as a whole. We establish the existence of a novel mechanism that allows the community to naturally adapt to growth, specialization, or changes in the environment without the need for central controls. This mechanism relies on the appearance of a dynamical instability that initates an exploration of novel interactions, eventually leading to higher performance for the community as a whole.
@article{arxiv.adap-org/9410006,
title = {Communities of Practice: Performance and Evolution},
author = {Bernardo A. Huberman and Tad Hogg},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:adap-org/9410006},
year = {2008}
}