  We present a detailed model of collaboration in communities of practice and
we examine its dynamical consequences for the group as a whole. We establish
the existence of a novel mechanism that allows the community to naturally adapt
to growth, specialization, or changes in the environment without the need for
central controls. This mechanism relies on the appearance of a dynamical
instability that initates an exploration of novel interactions, eventually
leading to higher performance for the community as a whole.
