Coordinated rule switches stall until actors know others will follow

Evidence

As Arthur (1994) points out, this is more likely to happen the higher the certainty that the others also prefer the new alternative regime of rules. In cases where this certainty is missing (or rule takers are at least uncertain about the action preferences of others), the situation is difficult to change, because actors wait for more certainty. In all of these cases, additional initiatives are required to reduce uncertainty about others’ action. — Jörg Sydow, Georg Schreyögg, and Jochen Koch, Organizational Path Dependence, 110

Categorization

• XREF: This is a formal statement of the coordination/expectations problem behind bank runs, regime change, and Schelling-style focal points.