Cultural influences on CoPs.

Some of the issues raised by cultural differences include:
degree of collectivism, Attention to seniority, age, gender, wealth

competitiveness, more important in cultures like USA.

the importance of saving face, Sometimes saying the wrong thing or even seemingly boasting is deemed to be inappropriate socially.

in-group orientation, whether you are in the core group, newbie, in the in group or the out group
attention paid to power and hierarchy,

and culture-specific preferences for communication modes and cognitive styles different preferences for symbolic versus semantic learning and cognition, and for different forms of verbal and visual presentation of information and learning content

four distinct cultural patterns, namely, vertical and horizontal collectivism, and vertical and horizontal individualism relate to power distance and achievement models
The authors end by suggesting that one needs to have a cultural audit of a CoP and address differences.

Ardichvili, A., MaurerM, Li, W., & Wentling, T. (2006). Cultural influences on knowledge sharing through online communities of practice. Journal of Knowledge Management, 10(1), 94-107 Retrieved EmeraldInsight, USQ library 21/12/2007.