On Unlearning: Recent Critique, Open Questions and Opportunities for Future Research

Since the 1980s, unlearning has been attracting increasing interest in the field of (organizational) learning. The idea of unlearning knowledge in order to create new one has influenced the research on change management, innovation, crisis management, knowledge creation and the like. However, while the concept appears appealing to many scholars, it is far from being on safe grounds. The goal of the current research is to clarify the concept and suggest how unlearning can enable the creation of radical new knowledge.