From community of practice to network of practice: a study of the evolution of a startup community in the city of Belo Horizonte

Abstract

This research explores the relationship from the literature of community of practice and network of practice in an evolutionary process in a context of innovation. An analysis of the knowledge and resources exchanges of the San Pedro Valley entrepreneur’s network, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, shows its evolution in three distinct participation/reification processes that mark the growing legitimacy of the city’s innovation ecosystem. From an informal group emerges an inter-organizational community of practice, which is progressively transformed into a network of practice according to a continuum, where the practice co evolves together with the ecosystem that is reinforced.

Keywords:
Community of practice; Networks of practice; Dynamics of innovation; Interorganizational relationships