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Organizational memory studies

Organizational memory studies
Organizational memory studies
This paper provides an overview and discussion of the rapidly growing literature on organizational memory studies (OMS). We define OMS as an inquiry into the ways that remembering and forgetting shape, and are shaped by, organizations and organizing processes. The contribution of this article is threefold. We briefly review what we understand by organizational memory and explore some key debates and points of contestation in the field. Second, we identify four different perspectives that have been developed in OMS (functional, interpretive, critical and performative) and expand upon each perspective by showcasing articles published over the past decade. In particular, we examine four papers previously published in Organization Studies to show the distinctiveness of each perspective. Finally, we identify a number of areas for future research to facilitate the future development of OMS.
0170-8406
1725-1748
Foroughi, H.
747f94ee-05cc-4fc2-8925-fecac350622c
Coraiola, D.M.
31e45891-a0a2-4f0d-8625-977336c832b9
Rintamäki, J.
bf413aab-c997-41ff-bd03-cd2e873c294b
Mena, S.
b709ac21-e582-4883-afc3-bbc44d166026
Foster, William Milton
8259ead1-7693-45f4-b5f9-5a0428bcebe1
Foroughi, H.
747f94ee-05cc-4fc2-8925-fecac350622c
Coraiola, D.M.
31e45891-a0a2-4f0d-8625-977336c832b9
Rintamäki, J.
bf413aab-c997-41ff-bd03-cd2e873c294b
Mena, S.
b709ac21-e582-4883-afc3-bbc44d166026
Foster, William Milton
8259ead1-7693-45f4-b5f9-5a0428bcebe1

Foroughi, H., Coraiola, D.M., Rintamäki, J., Mena, S. and Foster, William Milton (2020) Organizational memory studies. Organization Studies, 41 (12), 1725-1748. (doi:10.1177/0170840620974338).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper provides an overview and discussion of the rapidly growing literature on organizational memory studies (OMS). We define OMS as an inquiry into the ways that remembering and forgetting shape, and are shaped by, organizations and organizing processes. The contribution of this article is threefold. We briefly review what we understand by organizational memory and explore some key debates and points of contestation in the field. Second, we identify four different perspectives that have been developed in OMS (functional, interpretive, critical and performative) and expand upon each perspective by showcasing articles published over the past decade. In particular, we examine four papers previously published in Organization Studies to show the distinctiveness of each perspective. Finally, we identify a number of areas for future research to facilitate the future development of OMS.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 29 October 2020

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 503880
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503880
ISSN: 0170-8406
PURE UUID: 130f6885-bd0d-4621-afaf-74e4c94ab3c7
ORCID for D.M. Coraiola: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2292-627X

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Date deposited: 15 Aug 2025 16:46
Last modified: 16 Aug 2025 02:16

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Contributors

Author: H. Foroughi
Author: D.M. Coraiola ORCID iD
Author: J. Rintamäki
Author: S. Mena
Author: William Milton Foster

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