Toward a research agenda on why and how psychological safety can unlock quality

Purpose Capabilities, such as collaboration, learning and adaptability, are increasingly required in quality management (QM). Psychological safety is considered an enabler of these capabilities. Although psychological safety has been reviewed in other research fields, a discipline-focused literature review within QM appears to be absent. This study aims to address that gap by exploring what current QM research addresses about why psychological safety is important within QM and how it can be intentionally integrated, while also contributing to an emerging research agenda. Design/methodology/approach An integrative literature review was conducted in January 2025 and included 97 peer-reviewed articles from four academic databases. The review followed a qualitative approach informed by PRISMA to support a systematic approach. Descriptive and open coding was applied, followed by a thematic analysis. Findings This review reveals rapidly growing academic interest in psychological safety within QM. Seven themes emerged concerning why psychological safety is important in QM: enabling learning and innovation, enhancing team collaboration, supporting participation in continuous improvement, fostering resilience to change, strengthening relationships, improving well-being and improving leadership effectiveness. Six themes capture the integration into QM practice: leader training, cultural norms, team participation, open communication, structured reflection and experimentation. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first discipline-focused review of psychological safety within QM. The review synthesizes fragmented research, positions psychological safety as a potential enabler of QM practice and highlights a shift from Deming’s focus on driving out fear toward proactively cultivating psychologically safe conditions when leading and facilitating QM practices.