Categorizing errors in high-reliability organizations: Adaptive range and adaptive capacity in incident response

Area of Science:

• Organizational Behavior
• Risk Management
• Sociology of Organizations

Background:

• High-reliability organizations (HROs) operate in high-risk environments where error management is critical.
• Understanding how errors are categorized (near-misses vs. accidents) is key to maintaining operational reliability.
• Existing research often overlooks the nuanced categorization processes within HROs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine error categorization in a large defense entity, a critical national security organization.
• To analyze how adaptive capacity and adaptive range influence the classification of errors as near-misses or accidents.
• To provide insights into incident management for maintaining reliability in HROs.

Main Methods:

• Employed the repertory grid method for in-depth interviews with organization members.
• Studied error categorization during actual incidents within the defense entity.
• Analyzed dualities in actors' anticipatory and retrospective responses to errors.

Main Results:

• Identified key dualities actors navigate in error categorization.
• Demonstrated how these dualities reflect the organization's adaptive capacity and range.
• Showcased the interplay between anticipatory and retrospective error management strategies.

Conclusions:

• Error categorization in HROs is intrinsically linked to adaptive capacity and range.
• Understanding these categorization processes offers practical implications for enhancing organizational resilience.
• This lens provides novel insights into maintaining reliability in high-risk settings.