LATEST PRINTED ISSUE

LATEST FREELY ACCESSIBLE MATERIALS

Communities of practice in sociological discourse: from the theory of community to an applied concept

stmm. 2026 (3): 158–175

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2026.03.158

Full text:

VLADYSLAV HAZDA, Master of Management, PhD Student at the Department of History and Theory of Sociology, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

vladgazda@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5679-1814

The article conceptualizes the phenomenon of communities of practice (CoP) as an object of sociological analysis. Despite the wide application of CoP in business, public administration, education, and the civic sector, in Ukraine this phenomenon remains almost unexplored from a sociological perspective and exists as a de-facto reality. The author traces the evolution of the concept of community in sociological discourse — from the aggregated approach of F. Tönnies to the disaggregated approach of E. Durkheim, which allows community to be regarded not as a fixed structure but as a set of variable properties. Particular attention is paid to the deterritorialization of communities, which freed the concept from its spatial anchoring and made possible the recognition of new forms of collective organization. The article examines the origins of the CoP concept in the works of E. Wenger and J. Lave, its structure (domain, community, practice), and its distinction from teams, working groups, trainings, and networks. The relationship between the understanding of practice in the CoP concept and in the sociological theory of practices (P. Bourdieu, A. Giddens, T. Schatzki) is analyzed. Applying S. Brintʼs typology of communities, the author argues that CoP are most accurately identified as activity-based elective communities, while revealing the conceptual tension created by the combination of spatial dispersion and deep interpersonal interaction under conditions of digital communication. The study demonstrates that communities of practice are amenable to sociological classification, complement classical and contemporary theories of community, and require further empirical study in the Ukrainian context, particularly regarding the balance between rational goals and emotional bonds among participants.

Keywords: communities of practice; war; solidarity; social theory; community; social practice; networks; social capital; identity; learning; collective action; social interaction; Ukraine

References:

  1. Ackermann, F., Pyrko, I., & Hill, G. (2024). Mobilizing landscapes of practice to address grand challenges. Human Relations, 77(5), 593-621. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267221137884

  2. Alinsky, S.D. (1971). Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals. Vintage Books.

  3. Barber, B.R. (1984). Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age. University of California Press.

  4. Bott, E. (1957). Family and Social Network: Roles, Norms, and External Relationships in Ordinary Urban Families. Tavistock Publications.

  5. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In: J.G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241-258). Greenwood.

  6. Brint, S. (2001). Gemeinschaft revisited: A critique and reconstruction of the community concept. Sociological Theory, 19(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1111/0735-2751.00125

  7. Chaskin, R.J. (2013). Theories of community. In: M.O. Weil, M.S. Reisch, & M.L. Ohmer (Eds.), The handbook of community practice (pp. 105-121). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412976640.n5

  8. Durkheim, E. (1964). The Division of Labor in Society. Free Press.

  9. Durkheim, E. (1965). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Free Press.

  10. Giddens, A. (1984). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Polity Press.

  11. Hillery, G.A. (1955). Definitions of community: Areas of agreement. Rural Sociology, 20(2), 111-123.

  12. Janowitz, M. (1967). The Community Press in an Urban Setting: The Social Elements of Urbanism (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.

  13. Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511815355

  14. Lee, D. & Newby, H. (1983). The Problem of Sociology: An Introduction to the Discipline. Hutchinson.

  15. Neely, E.L. (2012). Two concepts of community. Social Philosophy Today, 28, 147-158. https://doi.org/10.5840/socphiltoday20122810

  16. Nicolini, D. (2017). Practice theory as a package of theory, method and vocabulary: Affordances and limitations. In: M. Jonas, B. Littig, & A. Wroblewski (Eds.), Methodological Reflections on Practice Oriented Theories (pp. 19-34). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52897-7_2

  17. Nicolini, D., Pyrko, I., Omidvar, O., & Spanellis, A. (2022). Understanding communities of practice: Taking stock and moving forward. Academy of Management Annals, 16(2), 680-718. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2020.0330

  18. Otreshko, N. (2025). Micro-macro synthesis on the example of theories of social practices in sociology. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing, 1, 139-154. https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2025.01.139

  19. Park, R.E., Burgess, E.W., & McKenzie, R.D. (1925). The City. University of Chicago Press.

  20. Polanyi, K. (2002). The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of our Time (N. Komarova, Trans.). Dukh i Litera.

  21. Pyrko, I. (2025). Communities of practice. In: B. Grossmann-Hensel, P. Jarzabkowski, R. Kratochvil, D. Seidl, P. Spee, & R. Whittington (Eds.), Elgar encyclopedia of strategy as practice (pp. 138-141). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035315963.00043

  22. Suttles, G.D. (1972). The Social Construction of Communities. University of Chicago Press.

  23. Tönnies, F. (2001[1887]). Community and Civil Society (J. Harris, Ed.; J. Harris & M. Hollis, Trans.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816260

  24. Wenger, E. (2011). Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction. National Science Foundation. Retrieved from: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/11736

  25. Wenger-Trayner, E., Wenger-Trayner, B., Reid, P., & Bruderlein, C. (2022). Communities of Practice within and Across Organizations: A Guidebook. Social Learning Lab.

Received 29.06.2026

Accepted for publication after review 25.07.2026

Communities of practice in sociological discourse: from the theory of community to an applied concept

stmm. 2026 (3): 158–175

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2026.03.158

Full text:

VLADYSLAV HAZDA, Master of Management, PhD Student at the Department of History and Theory of Sociology, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

vladgazda@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5679-1814

The article conceptualizes the phenomenon of communities of practice (CoP) as an object of sociological analysis. Despite the wide application of CoP in business, public administration, education, and the civic sector, in Ukraine this phenomenon remains almost unexplored from a sociological perspective and exists as a de-facto reality. The author traces the evolution of the concept of community in sociological discourse — from the aggregated approach of F. Tönnies to the disaggregated approach of E. Durkheim, which allows community to be regarded not as a fixed structure but as a set of variable properties. Particular attention is paid to the deterritorialization of communities, which freed the concept from its spatial anchoring and made possible the recognition of new forms of collective organization. The article examines the origins of the CoP concept in the works of E. Wenger and J. Lave, its structure (domain, community, practice), and its distinction from teams, working groups, trainings, and networks. The relationship between the understanding of practice in the CoP concept and in the sociological theory of practices (P. Bourdieu, A. Giddens, T. Schatzki) is analyzed. Applying S. Brintʼs typology of communities, the author argues that CoP are most accurately identified as activity-based elective communities, while revealing the conceptual tension created by the combination of spatial dispersion and deep interpersonal interaction under conditions of digital communication. The study demonstrates that communities of practice are amenable to sociological classification, complement classical and contemporary theories of community, and require further empirical study in the Ukrainian context, particularly regarding the balance between rational goals and emotional bonds among participants.

Keywords: communities of practice; war; solidarity; social theory; community; social practice; networks; social capital; identity; learning; collective action; social interaction; Ukraine

References:

  1. Ackermann, F., Pyrko, I., & Hill, G. (2024). Mobilizing landscapes of practice to address grand challenges. Human Relations, 77(5), 593-621. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267221137884

  2. Alinsky, S.D. (1971). Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals. Vintage Books.

  3. Barber, B.R. (1984). Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age. University of California Press.

  4. Bott, E. (1957). Family and Social Network: Roles, Norms, and External Relationships in Ordinary Urban Families. Tavistock Publications.

  5. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In: J.G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241-258). Greenwood.

  6. Brint, S. (2001). Gemeinschaft revisited: A critique and reconstruction of the community concept. Sociological Theory, 19(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1111/0735-2751.00125

  7. Chaskin, R.J. (2013). Theories of community. In: M.O. Weil, M.S. Reisch, & M.L. Ohmer (Eds.), The handbook of community practice (pp. 105-121). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412976640.n5

  8. Durkheim, E. (1964). The Division of Labor in Society. Free Press.

  9. Durkheim, E. (1965). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Free Press.

  10. Giddens, A. (1984). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Polity Press.

  11. Hillery, G.A. (1955). Definitions of community: Areas of agreement. Rural Sociology, 20(2), 111-123.

  12. Janowitz, M. (1967). The Community Press in an Urban Setting: The Social Elements of Urbanism (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.

  13. Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511815355

  14. Lee, D. & Newby, H. (1983). The Problem of Sociology: An Introduction to the Discipline. Hutchinson.

  15. Neely, E.L. (2012). Two concepts of community. Social Philosophy Today, 28, 147-158. https://doi.org/10.5840/socphiltoday20122810

  16. Nicolini, D. (2017). Practice theory as a package of theory, method and vocabulary: Affordances and limitations. In: M. Jonas, B. Littig, & A. Wroblewski (Eds.), Methodological Reflections on Practice Oriented Theories (pp. 19-34). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52897-7_2

  17. Nicolini, D., Pyrko, I., Omidvar, O., & Spanellis, A. (2022). Understanding communities of practice: Taking stock and moving forward. Academy of Management Annals, 16(2), 680-718. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2020.0330

  18. Otreshko, N. (2025). Micro-macro synthesis on the example of theories of social practices in sociology. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing, 1, 139-154. https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2025.01.139

  19. Park, R.E., Burgess, E.W., & McKenzie, R.D. (1925). The City. University of Chicago Press.

  20. Polanyi, K. (2002). The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of our Time (N. Komarova, Trans.). Dukh i Litera.

  21. Pyrko, I. (2025). Communities of practice. In: B. Grossmann-Hensel, P. Jarzabkowski, R. Kratochvil, D. Seidl, P. Spee, & R. Whittington (Eds.), Elgar encyclopedia of strategy as practice (pp. 138-141). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035315963.00043

  22. Suttles, G.D. (1972). The Social Construction of Communities. University of Chicago Press.

  23. Tönnies, F. (2001[1887]). Community and Civil Society (J. Harris, Ed.; J. Harris & M. Hollis, Trans.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511816260

  24. Wenger, E. (2011). Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction. National Science Foundation. Retrieved from: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/11736

  25. Wenger-Trayner, E., Wenger-Trayner, B., Reid, P., & Bruderlein, C. (2022). Communities of Practice within and Across Organizations: A Guidebook. Social Learning Lab.

Received 29.06.2026

Accepted for publication after review 25.07.2026

LATEST PRINTED ISSUE

LATEST FREELY ACCESSIBLE MATERIALS

} } } } }