Demonstrating lock-in requires identifying self-reinforcing mechanisms, not correlation.

Evidence

Summarizing the results of the PLS model, Hypothesis 1 is approved by the PLS model. However, to support our argument that a CPA strategy has a propensity to lead into a situation of path dependence and lock-in, mechanisms of self-reinforcement must be identified. — Georg Schreyögg and Jörg Sydow, The Hidden Dynamics of Path Dependence, 409

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: A crisp restatement of the discipline’s core epistemic bar: lock-in is only proven once the self-reinforcement feedback loop is named, which distinguishes path dependence from mere persistence.