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Kenan Institute 2024 Grand Challenge: Business Resilience
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Market-Based Solutions to Vital Economic Issues
Research
Apr 1, 2016

Fail Often, Fail Big, and Fail Fast? Learning from Small Failures and R&D Performance in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

Do firms learn from their failed innovation attempts? Answering this question is important because failure is an integral part of exploratory learning. In this study, we consider whether and under what circumstances firms learn from their small failures in experimentation. Building on organizational learning literature, we examine the conditions under which prior failures influence firms’ R&D output, in terms of amount and quality. Our findings contribute to the organizational learning literature by providing a nuanced view of learning from failures in experimentation.

Note: Research papers posted on SSRN, including any findings, may differ from the final version chosen for publication in academic journals.


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