Facilitating unlearning during implementation of new technology

Karen L. Becker

165 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Organizational Change Management

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Organizational Change and Leadership Organizational Learning and Leadership Organizational Management and Change

Abstract

Purpose One of the critical issues for change management, particularly in relation to the implementation of new technologies, is the existence of prior knowledge and established mental models which may hinder change efforts. Understanding unlearning and how it might assist during organizational change is a way to address this resistance. The purpose of this paper is to present research designed to identify specific factors that facilitate unlearning. Design/methodology/approach Drawing together issues identified as potential influencers of unlearning, a survey questionnaire was developed and administered in an Australian corporation undergoing large‐scale change due to the implementation of an enterprise information system. The results were analyzed to identify specific factors that impact on unlearning. Findings Findings from this paper identify factors that hinder or help the unlearning process during times of change including understanding the need for change, the level of organizational support and training, assessment of the change, positive experience and informal support, the organization's history of change, individual's prior outlooks, and individuals' feelings and expectations. Research limitations/implications The use of only one organization does not allow for comparisons between organizations of different sizes, cultures or industries and therefore extension of this research is recommended. Practical implications For practitioners, this paper provides specific elements at both the level of individuals and the organization that need to be considered for optimal unlearning during times of change. Originality/value Previous literature on unlearning has been predominantly conceptual and theoretical. These empirical findings serve to further an earlier model based on qualitative research into potential influencers of unlearning.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 165 citations exist upstream.

References

1988Organizational Learning 2009Leading change: why transformation efforts fail 1986Central Problems in the Management of Innovation 1986The dominant logic: A new linkage between diversity and performance 1981How Organizations Learn and Unlearn 1997Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization: A Dichotomy Between Descriptive and Prescriptive Research 1984To avoid organizational crises, unlearn 2006Inhibitors of disruptive innovation capability: a conceptual model

Cited by

2018Unlearning and forgetting in organizations: a systematic review of literature 2013Organizational unlearning and organizational relearning: a dynamic process of knowledge management 2017Unlearning established organizational routines – Part I 2019Antecedents and consequence of organizational unlearning: Evidence from China 2019Promoting intentional unlearning through an unlearning cycle 2013Counter-knowledge and realised absorptive capacity

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.