Learning from Failures: Why it May Not Happen

Long Range Planning, Vol. 38, pp. 281-298, 2005

18 Pages Posted: 7 Apr 2011

See all articles by William H. Starbuck

William H. Starbuck

University of Oregon - Charles H. Lundquist School of Business; New York University (NYU) - Department of Management and Organizational Behavior

Philippe Baumard

Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM)

Date Written: April 4, 2005

Abstract

This study analyzes the outcomes of fourteen strategic failures in a very large European telecommunication firm. The study asks what the company learned from these failures. Does learning from failure differ from learning from success? How does the learning from large failures differ from learning from small failures? Rather disappointingly, the company learned little from its experiences. Why is learning from failures so difficult? What were the key impediments to learning?

Keywords: learning, failures

Suggested Citation

Starbuck, William H. and Baumard, Philippe, Learning from Failures: Why it May Not Happen (April 4, 2005). Long Range Planning, Vol. 38, pp. 281-298, 2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1802834

William H. Starbuck (Contact Author)

University of Oregon - Charles H. Lundquist School of Business ( email )

1208 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1208
United States

New York University (NYU) - Department of Management and Organizational Behavior ( email )

44 West 4th Street
New York, NY 10012
United States

Philippe Baumard

Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM) ( email )

292, rue Saint-Martin
Paris cedex 03, 75141
France

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