Social capital, psychological safety and learning behaviours from failure in organisations

This study explores failure-based learning behaviours in organisations. It examines the role of social capital and psychological safety in the development of failure-based learning behaviours. Survey data were collected from 137 members of 33 organisations in a variety of industries in Israel. The results indicate that in organisations where there is strong social capital, the development of psychological safety and failure-based learning behaviours is enabled. It was also found that social capital, through psychological safety, is directly and indirectly associated with failure-based learning behaviours. Follow-up analyses traced the practices organisations use for expanding learning capacities and their outcomes at both the organisational and individual levels. Finally, the implications for learning from failure in organisations are discussed. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.