ABSTRACT
Two major aspects of knowledge management for gaining competitive advantage in organizations are organizational learning and organizational forgetting. Despite several research studies on knowledge management and organizational learning, a few studies have been performed on organizational forgetting and its management. In this study, it was attempted to introduce a conceptual model of organizational forgetting and to investigate its relationship with change-oriented and pragmatic leadership styles. The present survey was of fundamental experimental type, based on correlation method adopting sampling technique. Managers and vice-chancellors of private and public hospitals in Tehran formed the population of this research. The data were analyzed by LISREL software using structural equation modeling. Although both leadership styles had an influence on purposeful organizational forgetting, change-oriented leadership appeared to be more effective. Furthermore, the effects of various variables on pragmatic leadership and change-oriented leadership were obtained separately. It was found that short-term thinking of the leader with a factor loading of 0.89 had the largest effect on pragmatic leadership and encouraging and inspiring of the leader with a factor loading of 0.92 had the largest effect on change-oriented leadership. Comparing the effects of change-oriented leadership and pragmatic leadership styles on purposeful organizational forgetting, the researchers suggest to apply change-oriented leadership style for optimal management of purposeful forgetting