We have seen that path dependency deflects explanations for change and development of organizations or technologies not in their context or in exogenous conditions, but in the decisions and influences in the past. As consequences of these earlier incidences, the present situation or solution might not be the most efficient given existing framing conditions.

In the following, we ask you to analyze aspects of path dependency of your own organization and ask yourself if you see needs or opportunities for adjustments. How is your organization dependent on previous decisions? Is there a need for change? The analysis should be done in three steps.

First, note all aspects in your organization (and the relevant industry) that involve tendencies of positive feedback, non-ergodicity (in relation to other organizations in your industry), or steady ongoing developments (eg steady decline of administrative cost ratio). Include the resources, the stakeholders, the organizational structure, and your network into the analysis.

In a second step, check for inefficiencies or inflexibilities that result from your analysis in step one.

Finally, ask yourself which inflexibilities or inefficiencies should be removed or solved. Now that you know the causes of these effects, you might be able to change your organization more easily.

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