Premium
Path Dependence or Path Creation?
Author(s) -
Garud Raghu,
Kumaraswamy Arun,
Karnøe Peter
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of management studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.398
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1467-6486
pISSN - 0022-2380
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2009.00914.x
Subject(s) - perspective (graphical) , path (computing) , agency (philosophy) , path dependence , narrative , action (physics) , epistemology , computer science , sociology , artificial intelligence , microeconomics , economics , philosophy , physics , linguistics , quantum mechanics , programming language
We discuss the assumptions that underlie path dependence, as defined by Vergne and Durand, and then provide the outlines of an alternative perspective which we label as path creation. Path creation entertains a notion of agency that is distributed and emergent through relational processes that constitute phenomena. Viewed from this perspective, ‘initial conditions’ are not given, ‘contingencies’ are emergent contexts for action, ‘self‐reinforcing mechanisms’ are strategically manipulated, and ‘lock‐in’ is but a temporary stabilization of paths in‐the‐making. We develop these points using a narrative approach and highlight the theoretical and methodological implications of our perspective.