Learning from errors and error management in organizations: antecedents, processes, and outcomes

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Errors are ubiquitous and occur in most if not all organizations and at all organizational levels. Given the negative consequences of errors--ranging from minor nuisances such as lost work to major catastrophes such as the Chernobyl meltdown--it is not surprising that organizations typically try to prevent errors from occurring. Despite all efforts, however, some human error will prevail and cannot be completely prevented. Instead of narrowly focusing on error prevention, therefore, an active approach to managing errors after they have occurred, namely, error management, may be important both for organizations and individuals working in organizations. In line with this proposition, research suggests that a strong organizational error management culture, which involves open communication about errors and coordinated error handling, positively predicts firm success. Apart from this global positive effect of error management culture, little is known about the mechanisms of how error management culture unfolds its effects and about how and un-der what circumstances learning from error occurs. The presently proposed project seeks to fill this research gap using various research methods and settings. Studies 1a and 1b are scenario experiments in which participants respond to error scenarios with varying degrees of negative error consequences; the focus of these studies is on the effect of severity of error consequences on readiness to learn from error. Studies 2a and 2b are laboratory (Study 2a) and field (Study 2b) experiments in which groups of 3 to 4 participants work on team tasks under various conditions of error management culture; the focus of these studies is to experimentally demonstrate performance effects of error management culture and on the processes, in particular, of error communication during team work, that may mediate this effect. Finally, Studies 3a and 3b combine a replication and extension of a survey-based pseudo-longitudinal study on the effect of error management culture (Study 3a) with a diary study (Study 3b) the focus which will be on day-to-day effects of errors on learning at work as well as on factors that mediate and moderate this effect. Taken together, the studies shall enhance our theoretical understanding of error management and learning in organizations as well as the processes involved in learning from error--insights that can be used to develop effective interventions that foster error management and learning from error which ultimately contrib-ute to safer and more effective management of errors in organizations.