What is Periphery

This study explores the question of how the competitive environment, regional clustering and industry network structure influence the potential for developing firm level competitive advantage based on communities of practice. Paying attention to the context that communities of practice function in is important because only by doing so can we understand the conditions that constrain or facilitate the emergence of competitive advantage from them. Using the motion picture visual effects industry as the basis for a descriptive case, the study relies on primary sources and archival data to examine how managers can move toward competitive advantage by understanding communities of practice and the social, economic and organizational contexts in which they emerge.