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Path Dependence, Initial Conditions and Routines in Organizations: the Toyota Production System Re-examined

In: Institutions, Communication and Values

Author

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  • Wilfred Dolfsma

Abstract

The notion of path dependence was first explicitly used to explain prevailing technical standards (David 1985; Arthur 1989). It has also been discussed in recent decades as a useful way of analysing the development of a range of other subjects, including national innovation systems (Iammarino 2005), industrial districts (Kenney and von Burg 1999) and politics (Pierson 2004). For a long time, at the micro-level of individual organizations a much less elaborate use of the concept has been made (with the notable exception of David 1994) and it is only recently that interest in this field of application has expanded further (for example, Sydow et al. 2005). I argue that using path dependence for the historical analysis of organizational change can be very fruitful. To do so, however, the key elements of path dependence — sensitivity to initial conditions and lock-in mechanisms — need to be conceptualized more precisely and linked to one another.

Suggested Citation

  • Wilfred Dolfsma, 2009. "Path Dependence, Initial Conditions and Routines in Organizations: the Toyota Production System Re-examined," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Institutions, Communication and Values, chapter 8, pages 88-112, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-25066-6_8
    DOI: 10.1057/9780230250666_8
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhewei Zhang & Youngjin Yoo & Kalle Lyytinen & Aron Lindberg, 2021. "The Unknowability of Autonomous Tools and the Liminal Experience of Their Use," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(4), pages 1192-1213, December.
    2. Nathalie Mitev & François-Xavier de Vaujany, 2012. "Seizing the Opportunity: Towards a Historiography of Information Systems," Post-Print halshs-00671690, HAL.
    3. Aalbers, Rick & Dolfsma, Wilfred & Koppius, Otto, 2013. "Individual connectedness in innovation networks: On the role of individual motivation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 624-634.
    4. Sven M. Laudien & Birgit Daxböck, 2016. "Path dependence as a barrier to business model change in manufacturing firms: insights from a multiple-case study," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 86(6), pages 611-645, August.

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