Path Creation

… Path creation entertains a notion of agency that is distributed and emergent through relational processes that constitute phenomena. Viewed from this perspective, ‘initial conditions’ are not given, ‘contingencies’ are emergent contexts for action, ‘self-reinforcing mechanisms’ are strategically manipulated, and ‘lock-in’ is but a temporary stabilization of paths in-the-making. We develop these points using a narrative approach and highlight the theoretical and methodological implications of our perspective.

Raghu Garud, Arun Kumaraswamy and Peter Karnøe 2010. Path Dependence or Path Creation? Journal of Management Studies 47(4):760-774 · June 2010