BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam//NONSGML v1.0//EN NAME:Psychological Safety Across Cultures and Contexts METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20260929T090000 DTEND:20260930T173000 DTSTAMP:20260929T090000 UID:2026/psychological-safety-acro@8F96275E-9F55-4B3F-A143-836282E12573 CREATED:20260703T173501 LOCATION:School of Business and Economics for Professionals Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1105 1081 HV AMSTERDAM SUMMARY:Psychological Safety Across Cultures and Contexts X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

We are excited to annou nce that the international conference Psychological Safety Across Cu ltures and Contexts will be held in Amsterdam on 29–30 September 2 026.

Keynote Speaker

Amy Edmondson (Harvar d Business School)


This conference aims to advanc e contemporary thinking on psychological safety by examining its cult ural foundations and its relevance across diverse organizational and societal contexts. We invite researchers from around the world workin g on psychological safety to submit and present their research.
Important Dates

Submission Details

Plea se submit your abstracts by sending them to  leadershipacademy@vu.nl

Backg round and Motivation

Creating psychologically safe env ironments for employees is widely regarded as a central priority in c ontemporary organizations. Psychological safety, defined as a shared belief about the consequences of taking interpersonal risks in a give n context (Edmondson, 1999), reflects the extent to which individuals feel able to speak up, ask for help, challenge ideas, and collaborat e effectively.

A growing body of research demonstrates that psy chological safety:

As such, psychological safety has become a foundational concept in organizational behavior and management research.

Ho wever, despite this strong evidence, current debates remain largely g rounded in Western-centric assumptions, particularly those deriv ed from studies conducted in the United States and similar cultural c ontexts. Moreover, most research on psychological safety has been don e in the context of health delivery (Edmondson & Bransby, 2023), a setting that has typical organizational and institutional character istics.

As a result, important questions arise regarding the&nb sp;contextual influences on the understanding and effects of psycholo gical safety. Much of our current understanding may be constrained by implicit cultural assumptions, limiting its applicability in diverse global settings.

This conference seeks to advance research on psychological safety by integrating cross-cultural perspectives with organizational practice. By critically examining how psychologic al safety is shaped by cross-cultural and other contextual conditions (e.g., organizational values) , we aim to foster new insights that m ove beyond dominant Western frameworks and contribute to more inclusi ve, context-sensitive, and globally relevant theories and practices.< /p>

Towards a Cross-Cultural and Context-Sensitive Understa nding

An increasing number of scholars have called for a deeper examination of psychological safety across cultures and con texts. While recent research conducted outside North America and beyo nd typical business settings confirms many of its positive effects, s ignificant gaps remain.

In particular:

These gaps highlight the need to further a cr oss-cultural and context-sensitive understanding of the forms, emerge nce, erosion, and effects of psychological safety.

Through this Call for Papers, we invite contributions that explore and advance re search on psychological safety across cultures and contexts. We parti cularly encourage submissions that integrate theoretical, empiri cal, and practical perspectives.

Example Questions for Consideration

Contributions may address, but are not l imited to, the following questions:

As such, psy chological safety has become a foundational concept in organizational behavior and management research. However, despite this strong evide nce, current debates remain largely grounded in Western-centric assumptions, particularly those derived from studies conducted in the United States and similar cultural contexts. Moreover, most research on psychological safety has been done in the context of health deliv ery (Edmondson & Bransby, 2023), a setting that has typical organ izational and institutional characteristics. As a result, important q uestions arise regarding the contextual influences on the unders tanding and effects of psychological safety. Much of our current unde rstanding may be constrained by implicit cultural assumptions, limiti ng its applicability in diverse global settings. This conference seek s to advance research on psychological safety by integrating cro ss-cultural perspectives with organizational practice. By critically examining how psychological safety is shaped by cross-cultural and ot her contextual conditions (e.g., organizational values) , we aim to f oster new insights that move beyond dominant Western frameworks and c ontribute to more inclusive, context-sensitive, and globally relevant theories and practices. Towards a Cross-Cultural and Context -Sensitive Understanding An increasing number of scholars ha ve called for a deeper examination of psychological safety across cul tures and contexts. While recent research conducted outside North Ame rica and beyond typical business settings confirms many of its positi ve effects, significant gaps remain. In particular: These gaps highlight the need to further a cross-cultural and context-sensitive understanding of the forms, emer gence, erosion, and effects of psychological safety. Through this Cal l for Papers, we invite contributions that explore and advance resear ch on psychological safety across cultures and contexts. We particula rly encourage submissions that integrate theoretical, empirical, and practical perspectives. Example Questions for Considerat ion Contributions may address, but are not limited to, the f ollowing questions: Confer ence Fees Full conference fee €350
PhD students fee € 250 Organizing Committee Irina Prosviriakova, i.prosviriakova@student.vu.n l
Prof. dr. Svetlana Khapova, s.n.khapova@vu.nl
Dr. Steven van Baarle, s.van.baarle@vu.nl
Prof. dr.ir. Elco van Bur g, elco.van.burg@vu.nl
Dr . Sheba Agarwal, s.agarwal@vu.nl We are excited to announce that the international conference Psycho logical Safety Across Cultures and Contexts will be held in Amsterda m on 29–30 September 2026. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR