‘Memories are made of this’: explicating organisational knowledge and memory

It is a commonplace that in the ‘Information Age’, knowledge is the most important factor in the long-term success of an organisation. Such an emphasis is increasingly important as businesses confront a series of intransigent organisational problems connected with the retention and provision of organisational histories, knowledge and skills. ‘Organisational memory’ and its sister concept, ‘knowledge management’, are common glosses for the analysis and treatment of these problems. We analyse some of the conceptual and empirical issues that must precede attempts to provide support for ‘memory’ and ‘knowledge’ in the wider organisational context.