Organizational forgetting and its causes: an empirical research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of organizational forgetting on knowledge‐intensive firms and the circumstances in which the loss of distinctive knowledge takes place. Design/methodology/approach The empirical research in this paper consists of a qualitative proposal based on two case studies in higher education involving situations of organizational forgetting. Findings A framework for conceptualizing organizational forgetting. Moreover, the results of the case study analysis include a categorization of organizational forgetting and a set of propositions about their causes. Originality/value Scientific research on knowledge management has focused on the processes of knowledge creation, use and transfer, but has devoted little attention to the processes of knowledge degradation and destruction.