Structure and Dynamics of a “T-Shaped” Knowledge. From Individuals to Cooperating Communities of Practice

In a fast changing environment organizations face conditions of growing complexity that challenge decision-making and innovation activities highlighting an increasing need to develop dynamic capabilities. In this scenario, our focus is on the recent Service Science’s call for “T-Shaped Professionals” identified as people possessing both functional/disciplinary expertise and ability to apply knowledge across different contexts. Starting from this notion and by adopting a Viable Systems Approach (VSA), we shift focus from individuals to organizations, providing an interpretation of the structure and dynamics of a “T-Shaped Knowledge” to be developed with respect to a Distributed Knowledge Management Network (DKMN) in which organizations pursue learning by interaction and knowledge co-creation. Our proposal is provided with a multi-dimensional VSA-DKMF integrated meta-model to assess the relational conditions among cooperating organizations as well as provide guidelines for the construction of a knowledge network built on the idea of T-Shaped Knowledge. To illustrate the practical aspects of VSA-DKMF, we focus on the case of Open Communities of Practice as an emblematic example of developing a T-Shaped knowledge starting from a specialized (“I-Shaped”) knowledge.