scispace - formally typeset
Open AccessJournal ArticleDOI

The Paradox of Knowledge Creation in a High-Reliability Organization A Case Study

TLDR
In this paper, a case study of a multisystem hydroelectric power producer, a high-reliability organization (HRO), explores how new knowledge is created in a context in which errors may result in destruction, catastrophic consequences, and even loss of human life.
About
This article is published in Journal of Management.The article was published on 2018-03-01 and is currently open access. It has received 71 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Paradoxes of set theory & Context (language use).

read more

Citations
More filters

Learning from Errors.

TL;DR: This article found that errorful learning followed by corrective feedback is beneficial to learning, and the beneficial effects are particularly salient when individuals strongly believe that their error is correct: errors committed with high confidence are corrected more readily than low-confidence errors.
Journal ArticleDOI

The importance of human-related factors on service innovation and performance

TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the human-related factors associated with service innovation in tourism service firms and found that committed front-line employees and leadership are the primary antecedents of service innovation, knowledge management and instilling creativity through the firm are also key.
Journal ArticleDOI

A dynamic model of organizational resilience: adaptive and anchored approaches

TL;DR: Weick and Sutcliffe as discussed by the authors proposed a dual-spectrum model that introduces adaptive and anchored approaches to organizational resilience. But resilience does not play the same role in every organization.
Journal ArticleDOI

The Ethnographic Method in CSR Research: The Role and Importance of Methodological Fit:

TL;DR: A review of the literature reveals a problematic gap: We know little about corporate social responsibility as mentioned in this paper, despite significant advances in the past several decades, despite significant progress in CSR research.
Journal ArticleDOI

Effects of knowledge management on unit performance: examining the moderating role of tacitness and learnability

TL;DR: The suggestion that managers at all levels of organizations should engage in KM activities to increase performance is reinforced and the lack of findings to support the moderating effects of tacitness and learnability on the relationship between KM activity sets and unit performance challenges the adequacy of existing formulations of KIP theory.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI

Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the ability of a firm to recognize the value of new, external information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends is critical to its innovative capabilities.
Book

Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five traditions.

TL;DR: Creswell as mentioned in this paper explores the philosophical underpinnings, history and key elements of five qualitative inquiry traditions: biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography and case study.
Book

The art of case study research

TL;DR: In this article, an intensive study of case study research methods is presented, focusing on the Unique Case Research Questions and the Nature of Qualitative Research Data Gathering Analysis and Interpretation Case Researcher Roles Triangulation.
Book

Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design : Choosing Among Five Approaches

TL;DR: Poth mengeksplorasi dasar filosofis, sejarah, and elemen kunci dari lima pendekatan penelitian kualitatif as mentioned in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI

A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a paradigm for managing the dynamic aspects of organizational knowledge creating processes, arguing that organizational knowledge is created through a continuous dialogue between tacit and explicit knowledge.
Related Papers (5)
Frequently Asked Questions (10)
Q1. What contributions have the authors mentioned in the paper "The paradox of knowledge creation in a high-reliability organization: a case study" ?

The authors employed an instrumental case study of a multisystem hydroelectric power producer, a high-reliability organization ( HRO ), to explore how new knowledge is created in a context in which errors may result in destruction, catastrophic consequences, and even loss of human life. 

The informal knowledge structure enables individuals to “bend the rules” when needed and adjust formal procedures to the situation (i.e., contribute to and enable flexible experience). 

In essence, risk is created in this context because of the existence of interacting components that can produce unplanned or nonroutine events that are difficult to immediately comprehend. 

The interplay of formal and informal structures in the paradox of practice gives rise to the overall malleability of the organizational knowledge system, which is necessary for reliable performance. 

In non-HRO contexts, small errors and near misses are often useful in creating new knowledge in response to unknown problems (Carroll, Rudolph, & Hatakenaka, 2002; Dillon & Tinsley, 2008; Farjoun, 2010; Morris & Moore, 2000). 

Perhaps their most relevant contribution is the creation of a framework of knowledge creation in organizations that explicates the paradoxes embedded within. 

Due to the dynamism embedded in the routine events, knowledge created through them entails a refinement and/or augmentation of current knowledge. 

After the emergence of new knowledge, the formalization stage ensues in which the new knowledge becomes formalized and integrated with the organizational knowledge system. 

As demonstrated in Figure 1, when the event is categorized as routine, initial inquiry acts as a recollection mechanism through which individuals exploit collective knowledge and build initial insight necessary to incite the appropriate action. 

There was this problem with the aggregate . . . the authors weren’t sure what was going on . . . after discussion with the men on the floor the authors decided to turn the aggregate off, but the problem continued . . . so the authors turned off all the machines because the authors realized that there was no more time to wait.