Organizational memory and intellectual capital

Abstract

Organizational memory (OM) is a branch of collective memory studies tied to instrumental action which seeks to enhance the organization’s intellectual capital by aiding organizations in using both routine practices and imbedded information to anticipate and solve problems. Within an intellectual capital perspective, OM involves the encoding of information via suitable representation and retrieval systems which are filtered through the three forms of intellectual capital – human, structural and relational. This paper explores how these three forms of intellectual capital, when put into mnemonic practice, generate four interrelated but distinct models of OM – the storage bin model, the narrative model, the innovative model, and the political resource model. Emphasis is placed on discussion of how each of these models of OM impacts efforts to effectively manage an organization’s intellectual capital.

Citation

Wexler, M.N. (2002), "Organizational memory and intellectual capital", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 393-414. https://doi.org/10.1108/14691930210448314