3. Knowledge as a Social Phenomenon: “Horse Holding” and Learning in Networks
Abstract
Human knowledge and traditions can persist long after their relevance disappears, particularly in an environment of abundant information and rapid change. Organizational routines often continue in force long after memory of their purpose has been lost. But memory is rarely lost entirely. It usually lingers, in distributed fragments, in an organization’s social networks and can, when needed, be reassembled. In this chapter, Alan Kantrow examines the role of such networks in the process of memory loss and recovery.
According to Elting Morison, noted technology historian (1966), at the outset of World War II:
When armaments were in short supply, ...
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