Communities of practice and value co-creation: the motivational engagement system of the Italian consortia

The research moves from the idea that there is a relationship between the motivation (engagement) to exchange knowledge in online communities - in particular, in communities of practice, where the generation of knowledge is implemented in terms of solving common problems - and the value co-creation process planning along its three dimensions, which are social, economic and environmental. With the aim of investigating how the motivational engagement system of the companies is made up that allows communities of practice to become an innovative process to reinforce relationships, we use a conceptual framework called CDI (Connection, Discussion and Influence), elaborated in previous studies, along which the motivational dimensions can be formed, as they represent the main elements to join a community that is oriented to the synergistic design of the value co-creation process. The conceptual framework has been tested in the protection consortia of the Italian agrifood sector, where the hypothesised virtuous circle among the CDI dimensions exists and is a driver for managers of virtual communities or for those companies' networks (such as consortia) that choose to enhance their relational heritage through knowledge exchange. In fact, it provides fundamental guidelines to enhance engagement in these virtual environments.