Lock-in is a matter of degree, not total organizational rigidity

Evidence

In organizational settings, therefore, we suggest conceptualizing the final stage of a path-dependent process in a less restrictive way-as a predominant social influence, leaving some scope for variation (Pierson, 2000; Thelen, 1999; for illustrative examples) see Bruggeman, 2002; Burgelman, in press; Eden, 2004; Hollingsworth, 2006. — Jörg Sydow, Georg Schreyögg, and Jochen Koch, Organizational Path Dependence, 49

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Quietly overturns the standard equation of path dependence with irreversible lock-in, replacing rigidity with degree of influence.
• SEED: Article angle: why ‘locked in’ is almost never as locked as strategists claim — organizations retain interpretive slack.