Sometimes the corporate memory forgets aspects of what made the old design a
success, and omits a vital detail in a new design. I've seen this happen in a
1980s prop design that overlooked vital details from a 1930s prop.
OTOH,
sometimes a good idea gets poorly implemented, and the chosen corrective action
is to revert to an old but proven design, and the Brand X "corporate memory" is
to never make that mistake & try that new idea again. Until:
1) The
boss retires or is replaced, and new decision-makers derive a newer successful
design - or
2) the Brand Y competitor beats them to a successful
implementation, possibly putting Brand X out of business.
They say Industry generally has a corporate memory of about 15 years before it has to start the process of relearning the hard way again.
I can thoroughly recommend Trevor Kleitz's book "Lessons from Disasters" which looks at this in the Chemical and process industries.
Lessons from Disaster: How Organisations Have No Memory And Accidents Recur - Trevor A. Kletz - Google Books