Theorizing path dependence: A review of positive feedback mechanisms in technology markets, regional clusters, and organizations

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

The concept of path dependence has often been criticized as vague and only narrowly applicable. Although we can find some very refined definitions of the concept, we also find a wide range of empirical phenomena being described as path-dependent. We argue that more detailed accounts of the positive feedback mechanisms that form paths can take path dependence beyond this state of being overdetermined, but under-specified. Reviewing three well-described cases of path-dependent dynamics in technology markets, regional clustering, and organizations, we define a core set of positive feedback mechanisms that constitute path dependence at different analysis levels and clarify the relationship between positive feedback and increasing returns. We show that path-dependent processes, that is, processes driven by positive feedback that veer toward rigidity or lock-in, can be (but do not have to be) found under many labels, including structural inertia, coevolution, or institutional persistence. We conclude that a precise definition of path dependence does not need to be at odds with the concept’s widespread use in understanding organizational and industrial development processes.
OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftIndustrial and Corporate Change
Jahrgang22
Ausgabenummer3
Seiten (von - bis)617-647
Anzahl der Seiten31
ISSN0960-6491
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 06.2013
Extern publiziertJa

Bibliographische Notiz

Funding Information:
Previous versions of this article have been presented at various conferences such as the 23rd EGOS Colloquium 2007 and the VHB-Pfingsttagung 2008 and have been discussed widely in the context of the Pfadkolleg Research Center at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. We are thankful for all the useful feedback we have received there. We are particularly indebted to Jörg Sydow, Jakob Kapeller, Sigrid Quack, Arndt Sorge, Jan Jacobs, Stefan Kirchner, and Sanneke Kuipers for their detailed comments on previous versions of this manuscript. We also thank several anonymous reviewers who have supported the development of this article. This research as been funded by the German research foundation DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft).

DOI

Zuletzt angesehen

Publikationen

  1. Tree diversity promotes generalist herbivore community patterns in a young subtropical forest experiment
  2. On the Power of an Open Scientific Approach to Actions
  3. Reading the 2011 Riots
  4. Teacher collaboration, inclusive education and differentiated instruction
  5. Grassroots Innovations for Inclusive Development
  6. Diffusion of environmental management accounting for cleaner production
  7. The programme on ecosystem change and society (PECS) – a decade of deepening social-ecological research through a place-based focus
  8. Differences in isoprenoid-mediated energy dissipation pathways between coastal and interior Douglas-fir seedlings in response to drought
  9. Soziologische Aspekte des Spiels
  10. The shadow of the family
  11. Results from the project 'Acceptance of CO2 capture and storage
  12. Grassroots relational approaches to agricultural transformation in Latin America
  13. National Parks, buffer zones and surrounding lands
  14. Schuldnerhaftung für Roboterversagen
  15. Public perceptions of how to reduce carbon footprints of consumer food choices
  16. Measurement approaches for inigrated reporting adoption and quality
  17. Führen mit Hilfe IT-gestützter Workflows
  18. From the laboratory to the field
  19. A leverage point perspective on serious games for sustainability transformation
  20. LEGU-MED
  21. 2D QSAR of PPARγ agonist binding and transactivation.
  22. In Situ Synchrotron Radiation Study of the Tension–Compression Asymmetry in an Extruded Mg–2Y–1Zn–1Mn Alloy
  23. How business reporting changed during the financial crisis
  24. Pitfalls and potential of institutional change
  25. Shedding Some Light on Economics in Philippians
  26. Autotrophic and heterotrophic microalgae and cyanobacteria cultivation for food and feed
  27. Dataset of physiological, behavioral, and self-report measures from a group decision-making lab study
  28. Managing the Business Case for Sustainability
  29. Energy transition and civic engagement
  30. PSYCHODRAMA AND SOCIOMETRY AS COUNSELING AND THERAPY METHODS IN OPEN GROUPS OF ALCOHOLICS
  31. 'So tun als ob' 2.0
  32. Learning from Indigenous Populations and Local Communities
  33. Knowledge transfer in age-diverse coworker dyads in China and Germany
  34. Customer Value und Public Value
  35. The impact of female managers on the gender pay gap: Evidence from linked employer–employee data for Germany
  36. Integration by case, place and process: transdisciplinary research for sustainable grazing in the Lachlan River catchment, Australia
  37. Making Sociological Theories Come Alive
  38. Didaktik privater Rechtsgestaltung
  39. Art as entertainment
  40. Training Moral Sensitivity Through Video Games
  41. Culture's Influence on Emotional Intelligence

Presse / Medien

  1. Radverkehrsförderung 3.0