Breaking a path depends on whether its history can be reversed

Evidence

Opening the scope, however, does not automatically imply unlocking a path. Whether or not an existing organizational path can actually be broken in the sense defined above basically depends on the reversibility of the process. The path-breaking endeavor cannot ignore the history that brought about path dependence. — Jörg Sydow, Georg Schreyögg, and Jochen Koch, Organizational Path Dependence, 108

Categorization

• SEED: An essay angle on why ‘opening up options’ is the cheap half of reform — reversibility of the prior commitment is the real test.
• DEEPTHINKING: Distinguishing widened scope from restored choice reframes most change-management and policy talk about ‘flexibility.’