Organisational Paths: How History Matters in a Publishing Organisation

Abstract

Whilst the notion of path dependence features quite prominently in organisation and business history literature, its actual meaning and logic have remained vague and ambiguous. In order to advance a more precise understanding of the underlying logic we present a theoretical framework explaining how organisations become path-dependent. At its core are the dynamics of self-reinforcing mechanisms, which are likely to lead an organisation into a lock-in. The process of an organisation – or some of its subsystems – becoming path-dependent is conceptualised along three distinct stages. The conceptual model is then used to investigate a German book club that has become path-dependent and, finally, locked-in.