In the context of a startup, if you try something and fail, you'll generally be recognized for taking initiative even if the result does not pan out. At that level, learning what doesn't work is often as valuable as learning what does work. Startups often bias towards hiring people with just this mentality because that is what they actually need.
In the context of an established company, sticking your neck out is like career suicide unless it's a sure thing. Unlike a startup, you're risking an _established_ reputation on a new idea. So you end up working in an organization that has an inherently different view of risk and trying new things.
I'm not sure whether "nobody knows how to do anything" results from an institutional aversion to risk or from the natural result of hiring people that fit within that system, but the end effect is exactly as you describe. It's way too hard to do anything off of the beaten path, and trying to do anything along those lines _immediately_ results in negative feedback which makes employees a lot less likely to attempt such actions in the future.