Organizational forgetting Part I: a review of the literature and future research directions

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review and synthesize the literature on organizational forgetting. A systematic literature review approach was used to synthesize current theoretical and empirical studies on organizational forgetting. The review and synthesis of the literature revealed that the organizational forgetting literature is fragmented, with studies conducted across disparate fields and using different methodologies; two primary modes (i.e. accidental and purposeful) and three foci (i.e. knowledge depreciation, knowledge loss and unlearning) define current organizational forgetting literature; and the factors that influence organizational forgetting can be grouped into four clusters related to individuals, processes, tools and organizational context. This literature review has limitations related to time span coverage and journal article accessibility. This paper offers an integrative view of organizational forgetting that proposes a holistic and multilevel research approach and systematic synthesis of organizational forgetting research.