Background & Purpose: In the last decade, organizations have increasingly realized the value of knowledge management as one of the tools to improve performance and gain competitive advantage. The two main dimensions of knowledge management are organizational learning and organizational forgetting. The present research consists of two sections. In the first section, a closer examination of organizational forgetting is conducted through statistical analyses, illustrating the growth of scientific productions indexed in the WOS citation database. In the second section, given the complexity of the organizational forgetting phenomenon and the influence of various factors on it, efforts have been made to identify the influential factors and to structure and deepen the understanding of these factors as a basis for proposing optimal solutions to improve organizational processes and effective decision-making.
Methodology: In the first section, a bibliometric analysis was conducted to scientifically validate the concept of organizational forgetting within the time frame of 1994-2023 using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software tools. In the second section, employing the SODA approach, factors influencing this significant phenomenon were studied. At this stage, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 experienced experts in the oil industry to identify these factors. Finally, using Decision Explorer software, a comprehensive cognitive map was drawn, and by conducting domain and central cognitive analysis, a deeper understanding of the factors influencing this phenomenon was obtained.
Findings: The results of the first section indicate that within the specified timeframe, 1130 studies on organizational forgetting have been indexed in the Web of Science database. The United States ranks first in terms of citations, with Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom having higher rates of international collaboration compared to the top ten countries in this research field. Additionally, journals affiliated with top universities worldwide such as Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Cambridge have the highest number of citations in the field of organizational forgetting research. Conversely, a very small number of articles have been published by these universities. Lexical analysis indicates that topics such as leadership, human capital, and their relationship with other concepts can be considered hot research topics in the future. The results of the second section of the research indicate that factors such as insight, interests, and employee motivation, with domain scores of 12 and centrality of 19/28, as well as insight, interests, and managerial motivation, with scores of 9 and centrality of 16/26, are of utmost importance in mapping the experts' mindset regarding the factors influencing organizational forgetting.
Conclusion: Based on co-citation analyses, researchers interested in this research area can collaborate with countries and institutions that specialize in this field to investigate hot topics, which according to the research results, include leadership and human capital and their relationship with other concepts. Based on the results obtained from the two sections of the research, employees, leaders, and managers play a crucial and fundamental role in organizations regarding organizational forgetting.