Thus, an organizational memory represents a dynamic repository for tacit knowledge, ideas, expertise, etc., that are crucial in a continuously changing environment that will capture the valuable expertise and knowledge of employees. Anand et al. (1998) further contend that providing relevant information for decision-makers in a timely manner represents an important tool to "build competitive advantage in an increasingly global, turbulent environment".
It appears then, that most academic researchers as well as business professionals acknowledge the importance of knowledge management within the organization as a core competency. This often creates the potential for a sustainable competitive advantage, particularly from tacit knowledge (e.g. an associate's expertise and other non-tangible knowledge) that is rare, imperfectly tradable, and costly to imitate (Lane and Lubatkin, 1998). The key word here is "potential" as many firms have not yet learned how to share this tacit knowledge effectively or create an effective organizational memory.