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Locked in the Iron Cage? When Institutionalization Is (not) a Path-Dependent Process

In: Self-Reinforcing Processes in and among Organizations

Author

Listed:
  • Olivier Berthod
  • Jörg Sydow

Abstract

In his influential essay, Powell (1991, p. 186) stresses how little we know about the genesis and emergence of institutions. To him, neo-institutional theory consequently fails to look at issues of reproduction adequately. Path dependence, in his opinion, could contribute to these issues, not least due to its endogenous focus on the constitution and distributed reproduction of collective rationalities. And yet, studies in the neo-institutionalism tradition continue to mention the concept of path dependence with little consideration for its theoretical foundations (e.g. Holm, 1995; Thornton, Jones, and Kury, 2005; Modell, Jacobs, and Wiesel, 2007). In fact, and as we will see later, path dependence is more often evoked for rhetorical purposes than for the usage of its analytical tools (for a similar criticism see Sydow, Schreyögg, and Koch, 2009). As a result, the potential of path dependence has not yet really been exploited by institutionalists.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier Berthod & Jörg Sydow, 2013. "Locked in the Iron Cage? When Institutionalization Is (not) a Path-Dependent Process," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Jörg Sydow & Georg Schreyögg (ed.), Self-Reinforcing Processes in and among Organizations, chapter 11, pages 204-229, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-39283-0_11
    DOI: 10.1057/9780230392830_11
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    Cited by:

    1. Joern Hoppmann & Alice Sakhel & Marcel Richert, 2018. "With a little help from a stranger: The impact of external change agents on corporate sustainability investments," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 1052-1066, November.
    2. Johann Fortwengel & Arne Keller, 2020. "Agency in the face of path dependence: how organizations can regain scope for maneuver," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 13(3), pages 1169-1201, November.
    3. Lauri Wessel & Martin Gersch & Erik Harloff, 2017. "Talking Past Each Other," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 59(1), pages 23-40, February.

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