Innovation is widely seen as a basis for competition and knowledge plays a key role in underlying its effectiveness in the present economy which is knowledge-based. The innovation process is highly complex and uncertain; it is fraught with ambiguity, risks, errors and failures. How organisations respond to these downsides is not well reflected in the literature. They are often placed in a black box and left empirically unexplored. This researcher attempts to penetrate this box with an exploratory empirical study consisting of two research phases rooted in positivism. In Phase 1, a questionnaire survey is carried out with error management culture, organisational learning and knowledge management as antecedents of innovation effectiveness. The survey data collected are deductively analysed to test these four constructs. In Phase 2, the same data are inductively explored to determine the factors underlying innovation effectiveness. From deduction, knowledge management is found to be the sole antecedent of innovation effectiveness, affirming the importance of knowledge to innovation. From induction, autonomy and trust are found to be key factors underlying innovation effectiveness. Their attributes in this study are collaboration, knowledge sharing and control (for autonomy) and behaviour, relationship and reciprocal faith (for trust). The contributions from this study are – (a) an empirical confirmation on the importance of knowledge to innovation and (b) the derivation of autonomy and trust as key factors underlying its effectiveness. In addition, it contributes to research methodology with an exploratory integration of deduction and induction as complimentary modes of inference to facilitate the understanding of complex subjects like innovation. As a positivist research does not answer the causal how and why of innovation, it is recommended that future research on a similar topic moves to critical realism as a philosophical realm when an ontological dimension can be added to the epistemological exploration posited in positivism as found in this study.

This study examines the impact of Cognitive Awareness training on transaction processing accuracy rates within the US Financial Services Industry. Grounded in the theories of Inattentional Blindness and Error Management Culture, this paper supports and extends both theories through the development of a new theoretical construct. The ACE Construct is a novel approach that combines cognitive science, organizational development, and operational efficiency practices into a single approach designed to improve transaction processing accuracy. The study involved the design and implementation of a novel training program, with performance data observations sampled over seven months, to evaluate the impact of Cognitive Awareness training on accuracy. The researcher was able to partner with a global financial services firm to conduct experiments within three of their US based locations. It involved over 150 agents as they processed live-client transactions requests in real time. The similarities between agent populations, training practices, systems and procedures, and work types, allowed for analysis and interpretation of independent variables related to gender, proficiency/experience of the agent, and location. As expected, analysis of pre-treatment conditions suggest that accuracy is largely dependent on experience. Analysis of post-treatment accuracy results favor improvement in both accuracy measures and organization climate and culture dynamics as a result of Cognitive Awareness Training. Statistically significant improvements to both accuracy and organizational climate, related to type of Cognitive Awareness treatment introduced, and tenure, were discovered in the agent populations who were present during the entirety of the study. However, there was an absence of statistical support for a direct relationship between Cognitive Awareness Training as an independent variable and accuracy improvement. Furthermore, I was unable to detect a correlation between improvements in Error Management Culture and transaction processing accuracy. The results suggest the possibility of positive effects on transaction processing accuracy in practice, and open the door for continued research in this field.

Effective error management (ERM) influences firm performance, making ERM an important part of organizational life. Previous research highlights conditions argued to be prerequisites for an effective ERM, but fails to provide practical suggestions on how to achieve these conditions. The way in which errors are managed can make or break an organization. The traditional organization is being challenged by innovative organizational models such as the self-managing organization (SMO) design, we thus need to understand ERM from a collective leadership perspective. Through a qualitative multi-case study we explore what practices SMOs can use to create an effective ERM culture. We identify numerous practices that challenge and facilitate the conditions needed for an effective ERM. Furthermore, our study expands on ERM theory by suggesting two new conditions influencing the ERM culture: the valuation of openness influencing detection, without psychological safety as a mediating condition, and an organization’s pricing model determining the possibility of learning from errors. We conclude that the self-managing structure, per say, affects ERM. While an incomplete development of self-management may inhibit ERM, due to power imbalances, a high-functioning SMO facilitates learning from errors and the creation of an effective ERM culture.

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