Learning from forgetting: an experiential study of two European car manufacturers

Decision making power can be decentralized to foster organizational learning at the lower levelsı in the chain of command. However, abilities to capitalize on organizational learning may beı impeded by a concomitant process of organizational forgetting. This paper provides empirical evidence on this process gathered at the subsidiaries in Spain and Sweden of two large automobile manufacturing corporations. This evidence shows how organizational forgetting occurs after aı long period of learning and success and the antecedents of organizational forgetting. It is argued that organizational structure and national culture playa significant role in the relative success orı failure of innovative projects aiming at implementing organizational learning at the operational leve