Knowledge Inertia

Knowledge inertia, abbreviated KI, is a concept in knowledge management first proposed by Shu-hsien Liao as a two-dimensional model combining experience inertia and learning inertia, later extended by other theorists with a third dimension, thinking inertia. The concept addresses a central challenge in organizational learning, namely the slowdowns that can affect learning-related activity within a firm, and sits alongside related organizational patterns such as innovation inertia and decision inertia. Knowledge inertia is defined as a problem-solving strategy that relies on old, redundant or stagnant knowledge and past experience rather than drawing on new knowledge and new experience, extending the physics concept of inertia into an organizational setting through a theoretical framework built on Liao's original 2002 model. Not every instance of knowledge inertia produces a negative outcome; research has found that in some firms, it can actually have a positive influence on product innovation rather than only holding it back.