Emergence of organizational memories: A task network analysis of a Turkish public institution

Organizations store information in their memories and use them when needed. Different classifications have been made regarding the memories of organizations. This study focuses specifically on two types of organizational memory. These are called "Semantic" and "Episodic" organizational memories. If the information in the organizational routines is related to job descriptions and procedures, then semantic organizational memories are stored. Similarly episodic organizational memories are stored if the knowledge is related to experiences and gains or losses of the organization. These memories can be constantly recreated or disappear according to their use. This gives organizations the opportunity to remember or forget. There are two main purposes of this thesis. First, to draw out the conceptual framework of the organizational memory that is stored at the organizational level as a result of organizational learning. By achieving this, classification of the organizational memories according to their types and to measure them analytically can be possible. The second is to construct and test a model in which organizational memories can be measured according to their types under this conceptual framework. The approach that -the organizational memories in complex organizational information sharing networks are constantly renewed information repositories - is adopted; hence a model can be developed for measuring the organizational memories observed at the organizational network relations by using the phenomena of self-emergence concept of complexity theory. Hypotheses of this model have been tested by the network analysis performed on the task to task information sharing networks divided as the primary and secondary tasks of the selected sample organization. In this theoretical framework, the storage of semantic and episodic memories at the task-task organizational memory networks (where tasks are connecting with other tasks in the network relations) is analyzed. As a result of the analysis, the hypothesis that semantic organizational memories, which are types of declarative organizational memory, containing clear information about organizational tasks, are stored more as the centrality of inter-task network relations increases is tested. Similarly, the episodic memories, another type of open and declarative organizational memory, have been tested for more stored as the eigen value centrality of a task increases in a task-task network. Both hypotheses have found support in the different types of task networks. Data was collected from a knowledge-intensive public organization operating in the field of higher education and all the workflow charts for this organization were extracted. The descriptions of the stored information of different tasks in these workflows are distinguished as semantically and episodically according to the definitions in the literature. Locating organizational memories in the analysis of task-task network-centrality and the description of organizational memory types in the literature are supported empirically. Thus, the conceptual framework for organizational memories was developed by inadvertently testing the assumptions about the necessity of reducing the complexity of organizational knowledge within the contingency theory and strategically as well. It has also been inferred that managers can choose between different strategies, such as reducing the complexity or allowing it when making decisions. Conceptual and managerial inferences have been made in the research areas of organizational learning and knowledge management, which are important in organizations' decision-making mechanisms.