Unlearning, Knowledge Loss, and the Protection of Knowledge

This chapter examines unlearning, knowledge loss, and the protection of knowledge. The chapter begins by differentiating between unlearning and forgetting. It then analyses the close and inseparable interrelationship between unlearning, learning, and change. Different individual and organizational-level factors that can act as barriers to forgetting are reviewed. Knowledge leakage is then introduced to distinguish between leakage and loss. The final section deals with how knowledge could be protected in organizations.