Interpersonal Risk Aversion: An Impediment to Learning and Knowledge Translation for Innovation

This paper examines the nature of interpersonal risk, its propagation and how risk aversion can act as a barrier to learning and knowledge translation for innovation. A study of the social relations between a top management team and director-level staff in a high-reliability organisation frames the argument that the team's risk mitigation processes concerning new proposals are a factor in producing and maintaining a risk-averse corporate culture. This condition impedes organisational learning and knowledge processes when staff adjust their presentations to reduce risk exposure associated with new ideas, uncertainty and untested sense-making.