Zhang, Wei, and Stephanie Watts. "Online communities as communities of practice: a case study." Journal of knowledge management 12.4 (2008): 55-71.

This paper investigates the applicability of the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) to online communities and explores how organizations can effectively leverage online social structures for knowledge management. Utilizing a case study approach, the research employs the practice-and-identity framework typical of traditional CoPs to examine an online community. Qualitative data analysis was performed on 7,853 messages collected over a six-week period. The findings demonstrate that online communities can exhibit practice and identity characteristics akin to conventional CoPs, with members actively engaging in shared practices and identity development while pursuing common goals. While the study is limited to a single Chinese online community focused on travel, it offers insights into nurturing online CoPs and proposes a hierarchical model to help organizations identify suitable online social structures for knowledge management.