Institutional memory is a collection of tacit and explicit knowledge and experiences shared by persons of an organisation which includes how organisations think about who they are, what they do and how they typically operate (Czarniawska, 2004). What institutions remember can affect the way they frame future tasks (Corbett et al, 2020). However, institutional memory does not automatically lead to organisational learning. Even if they are diligently stored, they remain as data points unless interpreted and combined with other data. Hence, knowledge and experience remain discrete and independent until they are expressed into a story with insights and purpose. This study describes the archetype of a story which captures institutional knowledge for story-based learning. The research methodology involves analysing 10 long-form Asian-based case studies and documents that were written based on in-depth interviews and organisational data, for the purpose of institutional knowledge-capture and story-based learning. The in-depth interviews and documents are independently coded using Labov’s Evaluation Model of Narrative. The data are clustered and mapped to reveal the archetype of stories used to capture institutional memory for organisational learning. Some of the findings reveal that institutional stories are multi-dimensional instead of one-dimensional; a combination of facts intertwined with human emotions because institutional memories reside in people; and perspectives are context-specific and unique.

Authors:
June Gwee, Civil Service College, Singapore

About the Presenter(s)
Dr June Gwee is currently a Senior Principal Researcher at the Civil Service College, Singapore. She is also a storyteller, author and instructional designer who creates and curates content for learning.

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