Remembrance of Things Past? The Dynamics of Organizational Forgetting

Pablo Martin de Holan () and Nelson Phillips ()
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Pablo Martin de Holan: Instituto de Empresa and INCAE, Pinar 7, 1 ra Planta, Madrid, Spain 28006
Nelson Phillips: Judge Institute of Management Studies, University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CB2 1AG

Management Science, 2004, vol. 50, issue 11, 1603-1613

Abstract: How organizations create, transfer, and retain knowledge has been the focus of intensive investigation by management researchers. However, one aspect of the dynamics of knowledge---organizational forgetting---has received comparatively little attention. In this paper, we draw on an exploratory, multiple-case study of learning in international strategic alliances to explore how and why organizations forget. Based on our case study, we develop a theory of organizational forgetting, discuss the role of forgetting in the dynamics of organizational knowledge, and present a typology of types of organizational forgetting.

Keywords: organizational learning; organizational forgetting; unlearning; knowledge management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (72)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:50:y:2004:i:11:p:1603-1613

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