From Lock-In to Transformation: A Path-Centric Theory of Emerging Technology and Organizing

Brian T. Pentland (), Youngjin Yoo (), Jan Recker () and Inkyu Kim ()
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Brian T. Pentland: Broad College of Business, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824
Youngjin Yoo: Department of Design & Innovation, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Jan Recker: Hamburg Business School, University of Hamburg, 20148 Hamburg, Germany
Inkyu Kim: Broad College of Business, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824

Organization Science, 2022, vol. 33, issue 1, 194-211

Abstract: We offer a path-centric theory of emerging technology and organizing that addresses a basic question. When does emerging technology lead to transformative change? A path-centric perspective on technology focuses on the patterns of actions afforded by technology in use. We identify performing and patterning as self-reinforcing mechanisms that shape patterns of action in the domain of emerging technology and organizing. We use a dynamic simulation to show that performing and patterning can lead to a wide range of trajectories, from lock-in to transformation, depending on how emerging technology in use influences the pattern of action. When emerging technologies afford new actions that can be flexibly recombined to generate new paths, decisive transformative effects are more likely. By themselves, new affordances are not likely to generate transformation. We illustrate this theory with examples from the practice of pharmaceutical drug discovery. The path-centric perspective offers a new way to think about generativity and the role of affordances in organizing.

Keywords: patterns of action; dynamic network; performing and patterning; generativity; affordances; routine dynamics; simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:33:y:2022:i:1:p:194-211

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