The concept of calling is deeply rooted in western culture, but research in other cultures is increasing. Yet, whether calling is conceptualized equivalently across cultures is an open and pressing question. In this paper, we draw on a unified multidimensional conceptualization of calling to investigate the cross-cultural generalizability of this construct across six nations (N = 2491): India, Turkey, China, Italy, the United States, and The Netherlands. We observed that the multidimensional structure of calling and the relative importance of the different dimensions of calling in defining the construct are the same across cultures, and that the overall level of calling is surprisingly higher in non-western countries. We also observed small cross-cultural differences in the intensity with which people from different countries approach their calling domain. Comparisons conducted at the level of facets indicated that Italian and Dutch participants scored lower in Transcendent Summons and Pervasiveness, while Chinese participants scored the highest. Callings in India are especially high in the Purpose and Identity components. Overall, these results are compatible with the notion that calling is a universal human experience, and that culture differently influences the levels of calling’s dimensions but not their importance in defining the construct.
A community of practice (COP) can offer learning and support as a group of people who come together to share concerns, best practices, or new knowledge about some shared interest or passion. However, creating or joining a COP may present challenges, especially for those whose networks are relatively undeveloped. In this article, we define a COP and share how vicarious learning and crowdsourcing, as pragmatic, relational, and information-gathering processes, offer important benefits to teaching and learning COPs. After discussing how vicarious learning and crowdsourcing can be extended within a COP, we offer specific theory-to-practice learning ideas and suggestions. We end the article with brief insights for other management educators about our own COP experiences.
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