The Unintended Consequences of Organizational Forgetting
Abstract views: 0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31039/plic.2026.17.409Keywords:
Organizational forgetting, unintentional organizational forgetting, organizational memory, organizational capabilities, organizational learning, crisis preparednessAbstract
While organizational forgetting has been commonly acknowledged as an important mechanism that enables organizations to let go of outdated knowledge and routines, not many people notice that such a mechanism can also occur unintentionally. In this regard, organizations can accidentally lose knowledge through various circumstances, including employee turnover, organization restructuring, and poor knowledge retention. This study examines how unintentional organizational forgetting affects organizations by proposing that the mechanism erodes organizational memory. It proposes that this mechanism would eventually weaken organizations’ learning capabilities and crisis preparedness. This study proposes a conceptual framework that links unintentional forgetting and organizational capabilities, leading to a finding that the mechanism leads to potential organizational risks that may serve as directions for future research.
References
Argote, L. (2013). Organizational forgetting: Creating, retaining and transferring knowledge (2nd ed.). Springer.
Broekema, W. (2025). Conceptualizing organizational forgetting in a crisis context. Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, 16(2), e70007. https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.70007
Casey, A. J., & Olivera, F. (2011). Reflections on organizational memory and forgetting. Journal of Management Inquiry, 20(3), 305–310. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492611408264
Crandall, W., Parnell, J. A., & Nathan, M. (2012). The impact of organizational capabilities, environmental uncertainties, and generic strategies on crisis readiness: An empirical examination of retail professionals. Journal of the North American Management Society, 6(2), Article 3.
de Holan, P. M. (2011). Organizational forgetting, unlearning, and memory systems. Journal of Management Inquiry, 20(3), 302–304. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492611409651
Fujimoto, T. (2012). The evolution of production systems: Exploring the sources of Toyota’s competitiveness. Annals of Business Administrative Science, 11, 25–44. https://doi.org/10.7880/abas.11.25
Galan, N. (2023). Knowledge loss induced by organizational member turnover: A review of empirical literature, synthesis and future research directions (Part I). The Learning Organization, 30(2), 117–136. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-09-2022-0107
Hedberg, B. L. T. (1981). How organizations learn and unlearn. In P. C. Nystrom & W. H. Starbuck (Eds.), Handbook of organizational design: Adapting organizations to their environments (pp. 3–27). Oxford University Press.
Helfat, C. E., & Winter, S. G. (2011). Untangling dynamic and operational capabilities: Strategy for the (n)ever-changing world. Strategic Management Journal, 32(11), 1243–1250.
Jasimuddin, S. M., Connell, C., & Klein, J. H. (2008). Understanding organizational memory. In M. E. Jennex (Ed.), Knowledge management: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. 171–178). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-933-5.ch014
Jerez-Gómez, P., Céspedes-Lorente, J., & Valle-Cabrera, R. (2005). Organizational learning capability: A proposal of measurement. Journal of Business Research, 58(6), 715–725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2003.11.002
Klammer, A., & Gueldenberg, S. (2019). Unlearning and forgetting in organizations: A systematic review of literature. Journal of Knowledge Management, 23(5), 860–888. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-05-2018-0277
Levinthal, D. A. (2000). Organizational capabilities in complex worlds. In G. Dosi, R. R. Nelson, & S. G. Winter (Eds.), The nature and dynamics of organizational capabilities (pp. 363–380). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/0199248540.003.0014
Mariano, S., Casey, A., & Olivera, F. (2020a). Organizational forgetting Part I: A review of the literature and future research directions. The Learning Organization, 27(3), 185–209. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-12-2019-0182
Mariano, S., Casey, A., & Olivera, F. (2020b). Organizational forgetting Part II: A review of the literature and future research directions. The Learning Organization, 27(5), 417–427. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-01-2020-0003
Nafei, W. A. (2017). The impact of organizational forgetting on knowledge management: Evidence from pharmaceutical industry in Egypt. International Business Research, 10(11), 193–205. https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v10n11p193
Tsang, E. W. K. (2017a). How the concept of organizational unlearning contributes to studies of learning organizations: A personal reflection. The Learning Organization, 24(1), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-10-2016-0064
Tsang, E. W. K. (2017b). Stop eulogizing, complicating or straitjacketing the concept of organizational unlearning, please. The Learning Organization, 24(2), 78–81. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-11-2016-0084
Walsh, J. P., & Ungson, G. R. (1991). Organizational memory. Academy of Management Review, 16(1), 57–91. https://doi.org/10.2307/258607
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Christina Schabasser
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
Share: copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms. Under the following terms: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives-No additional restrictions.
Authors retain copyright and agree to license their articles with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
