Organizational Routines as Mechanisms for Knowledge Creation, Utilization, and Storage

Organizational routines can be viewed as mechanisms for knowledge creation, utilization, and storage. Many routines, by their very nature, become buried in the daily work of an organization. In time, organization members become less conscious of many routines and these routines subsequently become more difficult to manage. This difficulty reduces the likelihood, in some cases, that the knowledge benefits originating from routines will be effectively appropriated by the organization. This paper describes the nature of organizational routines and describes some ways in which they can be managed for positive organizational benefit.