Self-reinforcing Processes in and Among Organizations

by Sydow, Jörg; Schreyögg, Georg

• ISBN13: 9780230392823
• ISBN10: 0230392822
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-01-18
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The study of individual agency, innovation and entrepreneurship is currently experiencing a new birth in management and organization research. As a matter of fact, the dynamics of institutional entrepreneurship, of path creation and disruptive change, have reached the general discourse on organization and management. While this is certainly welcome, one runs the danger of overlooking the power of self-reinforcing processes in and among organizations. Such dynamics run, to a large extent, beyond the control and attention of individuals and organizations and may thus constitute tenacious limits to the innovative endeavors aforementioned. This volume is dedicated to the theoretical and empirical study of self-reinforcements and decidedly redirects attention to these processes, including: escalating commitment, organizational imprinting and path dependence, and sheds light on the genesis and rise of their pervasive influence. It includes a selection of papers, most of which have were presented and discussed at the sub-theme on "Self-reinforcing organizational processes" of the 27th EGOS Colloquium held in 2011 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Author Biography

JÖRG SYDOW is a Professor of Management at the School of Business & Economics of the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, where he earned his doctorate and habilitation in business administration. From 2004 until 2007 he was an International Visiting Fellow of the Advanced Institute of Management (AIM) Research, London, and from 2008-2012 an Elected Fellow at Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). He is a founding co-editor of Managementforschung and a member of the editorial boards of Organization Studies, Organization Science, Academy of Management Review, and The Scandinavian Journal of Management.

 

GEORG SCHREYÖGG is Professor of Organization and Leadership at the School of Business & Economics of the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. His current research interests include organizational change, organizational capabilities and path dependence. He received his doctorate in business administration from the Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. He was an International Fellow of Advanced Institute of Management (AIM) Research and Elected Fellow at Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). He also served as President of the German Association of University Teachers for Business Administration (VHB). He has been a member of the editorial board of several national and international journals. He has published in journals such as Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Organization Studies, Organization.

Table of Contents

List of Tables
List of Figures
Notes on Contributors
Introduction
Self-reinforcing Processes in Organizations, Networks and Fields – An Introduction; J.Sydow & G.Schreyögg
Path Dependence by Self-reinforcing Processes
Self-reinforcing Mechanisms in Organizational Fields: The Development of an Innovation Path in the Car Industry; U.Meyer
How Organizations Become Enduring: Disentangling the Organizational Identity Paradox; S.Kirchner
A Tale of Two Cities in Regional Entrepreneurship Policymaking: A Comparative Study of Suzhou and Wuxi from Path Dependence Perspective; Y.Liu, X.Cao & Y.Xing
Explaining and Monitoring Self-reinforcing Processes
Regimes and Reflexivity: Exploring Self-reinforcing Mechanisms Fostering and Impeding Innovation Capability; F.Schirmer, M.Tasto & D.Knödler
Self-reinforcing Mechanisms and Organizational Decision Making: The Case of Project Prioritization in a Financial Institution; A.Shollo & I.Constantiou
Service Innovation Capabilities Dynamisation in Knowledge-intensive Organizations: Evidence from Research and Technology Organizations; L.Gryszkiewicz, E.Giannopoulou & P-J.Barlatier
Anomie-driven Dynamics of Deviance; G.Fassauer
Imprints, Self-reinforcement and Active Reinforcement: The Case of Corporate Value Statements; A.Blombäck, O.Brunninge & A.Melander
Research Perspectives and Conclusion
Locking in and Unlocking – Adding to Path Dependence; M.Ericson & R.A.Lundin
Locked in the Iron Cage? When Institutionalization is (not) a Path-dependent Process; O.Berthod & J.Sydow
Specifying the Role of Events in Path Dependence; H.van Driel
Self-reinforcing Processes – An Assessment; H.Leblibici