Purpose: This study aims to validate and refine a method designed to support the Critical Knowledge Retention by articulating structured stages and practical guidelines to mitigate knowledge loss.
Methodology: A three-round Delphi survey was conducted with Brazilian Knowledge Management specialists. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were integrated across iterative cycles of evaluation and refinement to assess and enhance the proposed artefact.
Findings: The results reveal high convergence of expert views, who assessed the artefact - ReConheCEβ Method - as useful, understandable, coherent, adaptable, feasible and robust. The study also generated a curated set of 31 knowledge retention practices, which were validated and ranked by experts according to their practical relevance.
Research limitations: The use of a non-probabilistic and exclusively Brazilian expert sample limits the generalizability of the findings and indicates the need for field testing and cross-cultural validation in other organizational contexts.
Practical implications: The method provides structured, actionable guidance for mitigating critical knowledge loss, supporting organizations in designing and implementing feasible, context- sensitive Knowledge Retention programmes.
Theoretical implications: This study contributes to Knowledge Retention theory by systematizing essential stages, integrating emerging Knowledge Management themes and offering an artefact aligned with both scholarly literature and practitioner insight.
Social implications: mitigating knowledge loss contributes to SDG 8 (Sustainable Development Goal), as sustainable economic growth requires organizational continuity, which can be affected in cases of suppression of critical knowledge.
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