Evaluating Organizational Memory: A Three-layer Model

While the development of Organizational Memory (OM) has become common, the evaluation of these initiatives is yet a challenge. There are several reasons for this. On the one hand, there are various OM realizations possible. On the other hand, there is a lack of evaluation methodologies. We suggest the KnowledgeEco ontology-based methodology as an evaluation tool for OMs in organizations. Drawing on the literature as primary source, the purpose of this undertaking is to establish theoretical grounds and methodological guidelines. A three-layer model for the evaluation of OM is described in this article. The first layer concerns the development of domain ontology. The second and third layers concern the application of the ontology-based methodology to the development and evaluation of ontologies for OMs in organizations. The feasibility of this approach was demonstrated by a series of case studies in various organizations in Israel and Europe.