Inducing Error Management Culture – Evidence From Experimental Team Studies

• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.716915
• Publication Date: 2022-01-21T14:17:45Z
• Authors: Alexander Klamar; Dorothee Horvath; Nina Keith; Michael Frese
• Keywords: /dk/atira/pure/core/keywords/549207066; Surprise; Economics; Strategy and Management; Health Professions; Social Sciences; Business, Management and Accounting; Organizational culture; Building Resilient Supply Chain; Applied psychology; Social psychology; Employee Behavior; Decision Sciences; Task (project management); Cognitive psychology; Health Sciences; errors; Psychology; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; job and task performance; Business psychology; domain-specific culture; Radiological and Ultrasound Technology; 05 social sciences; Organizational Culture; BF1-990; Management; FOS: Psychology; Risk Analysis and Management; culture/climate strength; Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty; Enhancing Workplace Safety Culture and Practices; culture/climate change

Field studies indicate that error management culture can be beneficial for organizational performance. The question of whether and how error management culture can be induced remained unanswered. We conducted two experiments with newly formed teams, in which we aimed to induce error management culture and to explore whether we would also find beneficial effects of error management culture on performance in an experimental setting. Furthermore, we tested whether culture strength moderates the relationship between error management culture and performance. In Study 1, we used two tasks that require rational problem solving. In Study 2, we used a task that requires creative problem solving. We successfully manipulated error management culture in terms of an effect on perceived error management culture within the teams. While we did not find a direct effect of error management culture on performance, Study 2 revealed an indirect effect via communication in the teams. To our surprise, culture strength did not influence the hypothesized relationship. We discuss potential theoretical and alternative explanations for our results, and provide an outlook for future studies.