Path dependence and the stabilization of strategic premises: how the funeral industry buries itself
Publikation: Beiträge in Zeitschriften › Zeitschriftenaufsätze › Forschung › begutachtet
Authors
Several studies have shown that path-dependent organizations may pathologically reproduce their paths even in times of crisis. The unchallenged retention of underlying strategic premises seems to play a key role in this self-destructive process. Whereas the previous literature largely assumes that organizational crises provide sufficient impetus for updating strategic premises, recent empirical studies have highlighted that path-dependent organizations may find this highly difficult. In the present study, I explore how path-dependent organizations stabilize strategic premises even in times of crisis. Drawing on a case study of the funeral industry, I theoretically distill four mechanisms that stabilize strategic premises in path-dependent organizations despite the fierce pressures of organizational crises. While these mechanisms constitute either reflexive modes of processing feedback or generative modes of producing market outcomes, they all inhibit a disconfirmation and, thus, an update of strategic premises. Furthermore, the study presents indicative evidence of how this unchallenged retention of strategic premises leads to the pathological reproduction of the path.
| Originalsprache | Englisch |
|---|---|
| Zeitschrift | Business Research |
| Jahrgang | 8 |
| Ausgabenummer | 2 |
| Seiten (von - bis) | 265-299 |
| Anzahl der Seiten | 35 |
| ISSN | 2198-2627 |
| DOIs | |
| Publikationsstatus | Erschienen - 01.12.2015 |
| Extern publiziert | Ja |
- Betriebswirtschaftslehre
Fachgebiete
- Betriebswirtschaft, Management und Rechnungswesen (sonstige)
