CSCW as form of organizational memory

Abstract

Organizational memory is a topic currently receiving attention from a variety of disciplines including organizational studies, communication, and information systems. As a concept, it focuses attention on the organizational processes through which organizational knowledge is stored and retrieved, and the material bases in which this occurs. Consequently, it offers a useful approach to understanding how organizational learning works, particularly with respect to the form(s) it takes.Much of the recent work on organizational memory is focused on one or another form of organizational memory. For example, economists Nelson and Winter (1982) identify organizational memory as the performance of routines. Yates (1990) discusses documents, while Ackerman and Malone (1990) concentrate on a variety of information technology. Walsh and Ungson (1991), in their oft-cited review of organizational memory literature, develop five different types of "retention facilities", but do not include information systems. Stein (1995) makes an effort to integrate information systems with other forms of organizational memory from a content and process perspective, but does not systematically address differences in form.One theoretical approach which offers a comprehensive framework for different forms of organizational memory was developed by Klaus Krippendorff. Writing from a general systems perspective before the proliferation of personal computing, Krippendorff (1975) focused on the information processes and the material basis of social memory. He also noted how the development of computers would be relevant to this framework. Now that computers are common, his work can be extended to include the role of CSCW technology in organizational memory. This paper will develop that focus and then discuss its implications for organizational learning.