Embracing imperfection: employee empowerment and learning from errors from the lens of positive psychology

Purpose Integrating the conservation of resources (COR) and broaden-and-build (B&B) theories, this study aims to investigate how managerial empowerment fosters learning from errors (LFE) and drives employee innovation while considering the conditional effect of proactive personality. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a longitudinal research approach to collect data from 403 frontline hotel employees across three waves. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings Managerial empowerment enhances LFE through the mediating roles of self-esteem and positive affect which, in turn, fosters employee innovative behavior. Proactive personality strengthens the influence of managerial empowerment on LFE. Practical implications The findings offer practical insights for hotels to manage employee errors and foster innovation. Managers should implement strategies that boost managerial empowerment to cultivate employee self-esteem and positive affect, thereby facilitating error-driven learning and innovation. Originality/value This study contributes to reframing LFE as a resource reconstruction process. It also revealed a novel “resource accumulation–broadening and building–resource reconstruction” mechanism to explain how managerial empowerment facilitates LFE and innovative behavior.