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The purpose of this paper is to propose a model to explore the dynamic process of knowledge management from the perspectives of organizational unlearning and organizational relearning, which promote a favorable context for knowledge management.

The model is proposed based on extensive review of literatures. According to this model, the evolutions of organizational unlearning and organizational relearning are separately analyzed, and the interactions between them are revealed.

Organizational unlearning and organizational relearning are the indispensable factors to the dynamic knowledge management. Organizational unlearning positively affects the dynamic knowledge management by discarding the outdated and useless knowledge, while organizational relearning has a positive influence on the dynamic knowledge management by acquiring the new knowledge. Organizational unlearning and organizational relearning have synergies on the dynamic knowledge management.

This paper theoretically illuminates the relationships among organizational unlearning, organizational relearning and knowledge management, and doesn't offer an empirical test.

This paper will provide insights to practitioners to better understand the dynamic process of knowledge management. The practitioners need to provide favorable context to ensure that organizational unlearning and organizational relearning can occur.

Most existing studies focused on the inflows of knowledge, but the outflows of knowledge still lack sufficient attention, especially the dynamic process of knowledge management. The framework provides guides in that process.

The purpose of this study is to adopt the perspective of congruence to explore how organizational unlearning facilitates knowledge transfer in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Drawing on the congruence theory, this study built a theoretical model and examined it with survey data from 212 firms in China.

Organizational unlearning has no direct influence on knowledge transfer. In contrast, it promotes knowledge and routine compatibility that facilitate knowledge transfer. Routine and knowledge compatibility have different mechanisms on knowledge transfer. Specifically, the higher routine compatibility, the more effective is knowledge transfer. When knowledge compatibility is at a medium level, the effectiveness of knowledge transfer is optimal.

Firms should regard organizational unlearning as a crucial facilitator to knowledge and routine compatibility that promote knowledge transfer.

This study provides a specific understanding of the relationships between organizational unlearning and knowledge transfer by focusing on knowledge and routine compatibility as the crucial links, and enriches existing literature regarding knowledge transfer.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a scale for measuring value progress in outsourcing organizations. The scale is also intended to capture the differences in the nature of progress between different categories of outsourcing organizations.

The procedure for developing measures suggested by Churchill was adopted. The balanced scorecard framework has been used to generate items. Data were collected from 693 employees in 49 outsourcing organizations in India (specifically, those categorized as knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and business process outsourcing (BPO)) and the scale reliability and validity was tested using content validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and co‐efficient alpha scores. Confirmatory fit indices have been used to establish validity and unidimensionality of the measures.

The study statistically establishes a tool to measure progress of outsourcing organizations. The findings reveal that some organizations progress horizontally through size expansion and some others adopt a vertical progress through customization and domain expertise. However, these progress directions (horizontal and vertical), contrary to industry view and this paper's hypothesis, are not commensurate with the KPO and BPO classifications.

Apart from using this tool to measure the impact of intangible assets/interventions, future longitudinal research can examine the patterns in the direction of progress across industries/countries.

Individual outsourcing organizations can use this tool to identify their current progress direction and the areas to focus for the desired progress direction.

A scale to capture the direction of progress defined through logical and conceptual bases, done in this study, is the first of its kind in the outsourcing context.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between unlearning and strategic flexibility from the down-up change perspective.

Drawing on the routine-updating process, this study builds a theoretical model and examines it using survey data from 233 firms in China.

Unlearning is the enabler to strategic flexibility. Specifically, individual unlearning and organizational unlearning both have positive effects on strategic flexibility. Organizational unlearning exerts a partly mediating effect on the relationship between individual unlearning and strategic flexibility.

The paper examines the different mechanisms of individual and organizational unlearning on strategic flexibility and suggests that unlearning is a useful method or approach for strategic flexibility. In addition, this study is useful to help managers or practitioners determine how to embrace strategic flexibility by unlearning.

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to provide a foundation for human resource development (HRD) scholars in attempts to devise mechanisms for establishing and facilitating actionable pathways through which unlearning can be acknowledged and serve as a contributing agent for HRD interventions. This paper concludes with a call to action for our HRD colleagues to join us in further examination of unlearning interventions within the organizational context.

This paper narratively details the literature associated with the myriad social science domains that have investigated the unlearning process. Additionally, a cross-disciplinary literature review provides the basis for an operational definition of unlearning provided herein.

The field of HRD is devoted to creating learning organizations as well as utilizing change initiatives to develop organizations. However, unlearning has been largely ignored within the field of HRD.

The first contribution is by answering the call of scholars across varied disciplines to further investigate unlearning within the organizational context (Bettis and Prahalad, 1995; Hedberg, 1981; Nystrom and Starbuck, 1984). Additionally, this paper seeks to specifically address the role that unlearning holds within the field of HRD as it builds upon the definition provided by Wang et al. (2017) and offers its own operational definition. Finally, this paper provides the only known review of cross-disciplinary research pertaining to unlearning.

This paper aims to evaluate how managers influence accidental and intentional organizational forgetting, i.e. knowledge depreciation, knowledge loss and unlearning.

The literature was reviewed based on predetermined search terms to identify peer-reviewed articles published in English and available in full-text format from the EBSCOhost and Google Scholar databases. Empirical and theoretical contributions were included. Additional articles, books and book chapters were manually selected and included based on recent reviews and syntheses of organizational forgetting work.

Findings revealed that managers contributed to preventing accidental knowledge depreciation and loss and preserving organizational memory. With respect to intentional forgetting, findings revealed contradictory positions: on the one hand, managers contributed to the disbandment of existing beliefs and frames of reference, but on the other hand, they preserved existing knowledge and power structures.

The study was limited by the accessibility of subscribed journals and databases, research scope and time span.

This paper provides useful guidelines to managers who need to reduce the disruptive effects of accidental forgetting or plan intentional forgetting, i.e. managed unlearning.

This paper represents a first attempt to review and define the influence of managers on organizational forgetting.

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of unlearning on knowledge management (KM) in sport organizations.

The research method in this study was the descriptive–correlative type. Subjects in this research included all the employees of sport and youth organizations in Iran. To analyze the research data, inferential statistics including exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation model were used. A theoretical model was developed and tested based on the literature review. Data were analyzed via SPSS and LISREL software.

The results from the study illustrate that there were significant relationships among all dimensions of unlearning and dimensions of KM. Furthermore, the model of the influence of unlearning on KM, as well as the model of the influence of dimensions of unlearning on KM, illustrates proper finesses.

Through this study, the positive fundamental role of considering the processes of managing unlearning and avoiding bad habits as two coordinator tools to achieve tangible assesses in organizations is revealed and the significance of considering such studies is specified for researchers. This study supported the members of sport organizations to understand how to improve knowledge and experience of the employees through unlearning.

The purpose of this paper is to study the role of leadership in implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in a knowledge process outsourcing/business process outsourcing (KPO/BPO) service environment. KPO/BPO organizations present unique operational challenges such as client contractual obligations, young worker age profile, high attrition, dynamic outsourced business processes, technological disruptions to list a few. To implement LSS in such an environment, leadership plays a crucial role. While it is known that leadership is a critical success factor for LSS implementation, their role in a recently evolved KPO/BPO sector is hardly studied leading to high failures. The present study aims to address this gap.

A qualitative case study research method is used. A case study protocol consisting of research outline, data collection plan, interview schedule and list of expert reviewers was prepared. A semi-structured interview schedule of the case organization was used that covered exploring the leadership role in terms of their leadership style, communication, employee engagement and their ability to guide program in entire LSS implementation process. Further depth is obtained by considering dimensions of LSS implementation process such as actors involved, processes adopted, performance outcomes, implementation challenges and competency requirements. Primary and secondary data from two case studies yielded rich insights and helped to answer the research questions around role of leadership in LSS implementation for the KPO/BPO service environment.

This research case study demonstrates key leadership competencies that lead to successful implementation of LSS in two KPO/BPO organizations. To handle implementation challenges, a combination of LSS and transformation style of leadership style was observed. Leadership role focussed on coaching and empowering, rather than telling and controlling. Apart from the 17 leadership competencies seen in published literature, the authors observed 12 specific competencies (7 interpersonal and 5 LSS) in two case organizations that enabled effective LSS implementation. This study also gives an in depth understanding of the leadership role and enabling competencies during LSS implementation.

Because of the inherent limitations of case study research method, researchers and practitioners must be cautious to the extent of generalization of findings and the conclusions.

Positioning leadership to managing the LSS implementation in KPO/BPO service operations helps in innovative adaption of standard improvement methodologies (such as LSS) to address their specific problems and deliver on the overall organizational goals.

Current study explores in depth how leadership role impacts LSS implementation in two KPO/BPO case organizations. Studies focussing on LSS service operations model in a KPO/BPO environment are not extensively published, especially those covering leadership role during LSS implementation.

Technological outsourcing requires possessing the technological capability level by enterprises taking the outsourced activity and further mandates build-up capabilities. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing nations such as Ethiopia are usually equipped with low level of technological capability and could benefit from government-supported or government-initiated outsourcing networks. The current study aims to preliminarily assess performance of outsourcing initiative taken by the Hibret Manufacturing and Machine Building Industry, a subsidiary of a national corporation, in developing technological capability of SMEs in Ethiopia.

The study used a qualitative research approach through interviews with the parent company officials and owners of SMEs and site visit to these SMEs. Findings are organized in a way to draw lessons to be learned from technological outsourcing examined.

Technological learning, acquisition of new technologies, market access and process innovation are few capabilities achieved by the involved SMEs. To facilitate and harness these opportunities and further assist in policy ratification, a conceptual framework has been presented and elaborated.

Further investigation into outsourcing procedure and biases are expected to shed further light onto the outsourcing initiative by the parent company. This study drew results from investigation of the SMEs involved. Additional investigation of other SMEs is expected to reveal additional insights.

There is a dearth of literature focusing on exploration of technological outsourcing in low-income developing countries, such as Ethiopia, to build SMEs’ technological capabilities. This research presents insightful contribution to strategic outsourcing to build local technological capability in developing economies.