We examine how developers of new knowledge position themselves within and between the cohesive intellectual communities called knowledge communities, and how this affects their impact. Knowledge communities can provide powerful benefits to those developing new knowledge, but it can also constrain them. Looking at the micro and macro fields of management strategy, we explore the dynamics of knowledge positioning for scholars through a novel methodology that identifies clusters representing successful knowledge communities. We find that it is significantly beneficial for new knowledge to be a part of a knowledge community, but that, within one, new knowledge has more impact if it also draws from outside knowledge. This provides a powerful internal logic for the internal coherency and continued evolution of knowledge communities across time.
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