The role of community of practice in developing creative industry projects

The aim of the paper is to analyze the organization of projects considering the importance of the social ties between their participants. The social side of project-based organizations is a rich “humus” to build upon in developing projects. In particular, we focus on the community of practice as a place where social ties are built and maintained over time. The sharing of a common identity and knowledge among the members of the community is a premise for the development of projects.The paper offers a fresh view of the functioning of projects, specifically in the realm of the creative industries; the empirical context is the emerging design community within the Turin area (Italy): Turn.

Research highlights► We analyzed how projects are organized and developed in the creative industry. ► We studied the Turn a community of designers based in Turin, Italy. ► It emerges that creative projects are developed within a social structure. ► In particular, the community of practice is the place where creative projects are nurtured.