Comparison research on Communities of Practice, university knowledge exchange and business model changes between the United Kingdom and Vietnamese Agri-tech Start-ups

Abstract

This research aims at understanding the expectations that Agritech startups in the United Kingdom and Vietnam have on the benefits of Communities of Practice, and how Communities of Practice help these businesses to tackle the challenges of business model changes for their growth enhancement. The co-creational collaboration between academics and agritech startups when working together on knowledge/experience-sharing through CoPs is also explored. The research takes a case study approach, using meetings, interviews, and other documentary data to capture the events, actions and changes of attitudes, behaviors, and expectations of our eight Agritech startups (including six in the UK and two in Vietnam) towards their use of Communities of Practice. These Agritech startups are often attempting to exploit their existing business models, while at the same time explore a portfolio of new business opportunities that could generate new growth engines. Research findings indicate a significant change in the business models of the startups when integrating temporal Communities of Practice techniques. Some of them quickly move into a value creation phase by which they achieve quick-wins and medium-term actions that generate both financial & non-financial business value. The research results may have implications for policy makers and other practitioners, who are looking to develop and build these types of interventions that can takeinsights from these fundamental key actors, relations, and value exchanges within the Communities of Practice. Businesses in other fields could also better understand the value and potential of temporal COPs and apply these to their own sector.