Getting off the Track to Found – The Influence of Path Dependence on the Entrepreneurial Process

Abstract

T he concept of path dependence describes mechanisms which can lead organizations to a lock-in on a certain path of development. Sydow et al. (2009) describe four basic self-reinforcing mechanisms (learning effects, adaptive expectations, coordination effects and complementary effects) and argue how they can lead to organizational lock-in along three distinct phases. This study investigates the influence of these mechanisms within the entrepreneurial venture creation process (Berger 2015c) and concludes in an argumentation that this process is by no means a determined path. Instead, the forces of path dependence actually lead entities out of the entrepreneurial gestation process in each single step. Therefore, becoming an entrepreneur requires repeated breaches of the determined path, which explains another dimension why starting a venture can be so challenging.

Keywords

• path dependence
• path breaking
• entrepreneurial funnel
• nascent entrepreneurs
• entrepreneurial process