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

Ivana Milosevic, A. Erin Bass, Gwendolyn M. Combs

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

We 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 findings indicate that knowledge creation is multilevel, nested within three levels of paradox: paradox of knowing, paradox of practice, and paradox of organizing. The combination of the lack of opportunity for errors with the dynamism of the HRO context necessitates that individuals work through multiple paradoxes to generate and formalize new knowledge. The findings contribute to the literature on knowledge creation in context by explicating the work practices associated with issue recognition, resolution, and refinement, and the formalization of knowledge in failure-intolerant organizations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1174-1201
Number of pages28
JournalJournal of Management
Volume44
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2018

Keywords

  • case study
  • high-reliability organization (HRO)
  • knowledge creation
  • paradox theory

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Finance
  • Strategy and Management

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