Publication
Conceptualising organisational forgetting in a crisis context
This article by Wout Broekema highlights that organisations not only learn from crises, but also forget. Crucial knowledge and practices are lost over time – an underestimated problem that can seriously undermine preparedness for future crises.
- Author
- Wout Broekema
- Date
- 29 May 2025
- Links
- Read the full article here
Broekema introduces a shift from the traditional cumulative view of organisational learning to a cyclical perspective that acknowledges the dynamic interplay between learning and forgetting. The article defines organisational forgetting as the unintentional loss of previously acquired knowledge and practices, and distinguishes it from related concepts like unlearning and organisational amnesia, a structural inability to retain critical knowledge.
An analytical framework is presented, identifying six dimensions of organisational forgetting: who forgets, what is forgotten, the level of forgetting, how forgetting occurs, when it happens, and how structural it is. The article also outlines six explanations for why organisational forgetting occurs, ranging from individual turnover to lack of institutional memory mechanisms.
The study concludes by emphasising the need for organisations to recognise and address the risks of forgetting, especially in the aftermath of crises.