Title: Unlearning: a systematic literature review

Authors: Susanne Durst; Ilka Heinze; Thomas Henschel; Nishad Nawaz

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, School of Business and Governance, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia ' School of Management and Organizational Science, Kaposvár University, H-7400 Kaposvár, Guba Sándor u. 40, P.O. Box 16, Hungary ' Business School, Fakultät Wirtschafts-und Rechtswissenschaften, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin, Treskowallee 8, 10318 Berlin, Germany ' College of Business Administration, Kingdom University, P.O. Box 40434, Bahrain

Abstract: This paper aims to provide a systematic review on the topic of unlearning (and the related concept of forgetting) to establish the current body of knowledge. Despite the growing popularity of the topic, little research so far has aimed to contribute to the extant literature by providing a detailed examination that includes all aspects of unlearning. Thus, to reach our aim 72 refereed articles were analysed. The findings are synthesised not only in regard to the broad concepts of unlearning and forgetting but also regarding general issues such as operationalisation, research methodology and level of analysis. Based on this a number of research questions are proposed that aim at guiding and informing future research activities. The findings contribute to a more holistic understanding of the topic and complement extant literature on unlearning.

Keywords: unlearning; forgetting; knowledge management; change management; strategic management; learning; innovation; systematic literature review.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2020.106959

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2020 Vol.24 No.4, pp.472 - 495

Received: 20 Oct 2017
Accepted: 18 Jan 2018
Published online: 29 Apr 2020 *

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