The theory of path dependence continues to attract great interest in a range of disciplines. An increasing number of scholars have started to explicitly use this theory for studying organizational inertia and institutional rigidities. This volume presents a collection of papers from various international conferences that address these issues.

PART I: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS Path Dependency in Institutions and Organizations; G.Schreyogg & J.Sydow Slippery Paths of (Mis)Understanding? Historically Based Explanations in Social Science; D.Breznitz PART II: PATH DEPENDENCY IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS Imprinting, Path Dependence and Metaroutines: The Genesis and Development of the Toyota Production System; H.van Driel & W.Dolfsma Path Dependency, Institutionalization and the Demise of two Public Institutions; S.Kuipers & A.Boin PART III: STRATEGIC PATH DEPENDENCY Path Dependence Through Corporate Political Activity; J.Siedentopp & A.Sollner Continuity in Change: Path Dependence and Transformation in two Swedish Multinationals; O.Brunninge & L.Melin PART IV: PATH-DEPENDENT INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT Modularity, Path Dependency and the Offshoring of (Some) Physician Services; M.Stack & M.Gartland The Horse's Hoof: Social Identity and Path Creation in the Equine Industry; K.Koput & D.Olson Path Dependence and Public Timber Auctions - Historical Analysis of the Social Construction of a Merchant Institution to Sell France's Public Timber; G.Marty Path Dependency, Lock-in, and the Emergence of Clusters: The Case of Istanbul's Film Cluster; O.Oz & K.Ozkaracalar Regional Clusters and Path Dependency: The Case of Stuttgart; G.Fuchs PART V: PATH DEPENDENCY OF POLICY AND INSTITUTIONS Explaining Path Dependence through Discourse Analysis: The Case of Seasonal Farm Workers in Germany; S.Hess, D.Kleinschmit, L.Theuvsen, S.von Cramon-Taubadel & U.Zschache Institutional Path Dependency: A Resistance to Controversies; K.van Nieuwaal PART VI: PERSPECTIVES ON A THEORY OF PATH DEPENDENCY Path Dependency and Strategy Evolution; R.Burgelman Living with 'Lock-in': Path-Constrained Melioration and its Consequences in the Evolution of Non-Ergodic Systems; P.David