Self-Reinforcing Processes in Organizations, Networks, and Fields — An Introduction

More often than not, organizations and also inter-organizational networks, markets or fields are characterized by dynamics that seem to run by and large beyond the control of agents. Even more dramatically, some of these are “hidden” as they unfold behind the backs of agents, either within or beyond the boundaries of single organizations. Among these mostly hidden and emergent dynamics, self-reinforcing processes seem of particular importance; they unfold their own dynamic, turning a possibly virtuous circle into a vicious one (Masuch, 1985). In terms of results they can also explain puzzling organizational and inter-organizational states such as rigidity, inertia, decay, and so on. More than anything else, the ongoing debt crisis has demonstrated the force of self-reinforcing dynamics and their possibly devastating impact on organizations and society in general. However, self-reinforcing processes develop not only at the macro level, but also in organizations as well as in inter-organizational arrangements such as strategic alliances and networks. In order to capture and properly understand those capricious organizational processes and phenomena, it seems promising to include self-reinforcing dynamics in the theorizing of organizations, networks, and fields, thereby partially substituting purely agency- or institution-based explanations.