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Breaking New Paths: Theory and Method in Path Dependence Research

  • Breaking New Paths
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Schmalenbach Business Review Aims and scope

Abstract

We argue that the main reason for the prevailing dissent in path dependence research methods is the futile attempt to capture “path dependence as a whole” within either a single-method research design or a single all-encompassing theoretical mechanism. By delineating two conceptual building blocks, path creation/emergence and positive feedback/lock-in, which rest on different epistemological foundations, we advocate for the application of complementary methods. We further refine our argument by proposing a general axiomatic structure for path dependence as a theoretical concept, which allows us to derive more specific methodological suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business & Economics - Department of Management, Freie Universität Berlin, Boltzmannstr. 20, D-14195, Berlin, Germany

    Leonhard Dobusch

  2. Department of Philosophy and Theory of Science, University of Linz, Altenbergerstraße 50, A-4040, Linz, Germany

    Jakob Kapeller

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  1. Leonhard Dobusch
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  2. Jakob Kapeller
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Correspondence to Leonhard Dobusch.

Additional information

We thank Volker Gadenne, James Simmie, Georg Schreyögg, Jörg Sydow, the participants of the 2nd International Conference on Path Dependence 2011, and an anonymous reviewer for their feedback, and Gordon Müller-Seitz, Elke Schüßler, and Stefan Steinerberger for their collegial support and constructive discussions.

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Dobusch, L., Kapeller, J. Breaking New Paths: Theory and Method in Path Dependence Research. Schmalenbach Bus Rev 65, 288–311 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03396859

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