Providers of complex business services often focus on creating positive experiences to manage their clients' impressions and their consultants' self-esteem. This, however, creates challenges to sharing errors. Based on case studies of two consulting organizations, both explicitly committed to positivity, we explore how consultants make decisions about error sharing. We discover two versions of positivity (trait based and experience based), which are coupled with two different organizational mindsets (fixed vs. growth). These pairs shape an organization's view of errors, and they create different cultural contexts for error sharing. With trait-based positivity and a fixed organizational mindset, the predominant emotion when committing errors was shame; only costs of error sharing were seen, and errors were shared only with a small group of trusted peers. With experience-based positivity and a growth organizational mindset, the predominant emotion instead was guilt; both costs and benefits of error sharing were considered, and errors were shared more widely. These findings contribute to research on error management by laying the ground for further theorizing about the relationship between organizational norms and values, emotions, cost-benefit considerations, and decisions about error sharing. They also hold implications for managers regarding how to emphasize the positive without muting error sharing.
- Sharing Errors Where Everyone is Perfect: Culture, Emotional Dynamics, and Error Sharing in Two Consulting Firms
- Jonas Dahl - Stockholm School of Economics, Department of Management and OrganizationAndreas Werr - Stockholm School of Economics, Department of Management and Organization
- Academy of Management Discoveries, Vol.7(4), pp.509-529
- Academy of Management
- 21
- Department of Management and Organization
- English
- Journal article