Organizational learning: an exploration of organizational memory and its role in organizational change processes

Abstract

Researchers and practitioners have shown a great deal of interest in the topic of organizational learning in the last two decades. The key dilemma, however, remains whether organizations as entities can do anything in their own right. Is it meaningful to think of organizations as having objectives, learning abilities, and memories, or do organizations only learn through their current members? The aim of this study is to shed light on what organizational memory is and what role it plays during organizational change. We report the findings of a study on organizational memory and learning in a large electronics firm. Using a variety of research methods we analyze mutations in organizational memory traces over a long period of time and discuss whether or not an organization can learn from previous change experiences, encapsulated in organizational memory traces, as it goes through a different, but related, change program. Finally, implications of this study for change management are described.