Investigating communication and professional communities at international events

Abstract

This article reports on a research project investigating communication at several international events held in Italy and focusing on grapes and wine. It also incorporates subsequent research and presents the project as a case to illustrate the way different notions of community were considered during the research process and to examine contextual factors such as relationships, roles and level of expertise of interactants. The article draws on a series of studies to provide a richer picture of the complexity of relations characterizing communicative events in international professional contexts, especially when expertise, knowledge sharing and knowledge creation come increasingly into play. It also gives attention to how project outcomes led to new research and data collection, course development and further interdisciplinary collaboration.

Keywords

• intercultural and international business communication
• business discourse
• professional communication
• community of practice
• industry events