Cocooned: path dependence and the demise of Anderson & Robertson Ltd, Scotland's last silk throwsters

This study applies the insights of path dependence theory to a Scottish yarn producing firm which existed from 1877 to 1964. Previous longitudinal studies of firms and their strategies have concentrated on larger entities, but the present one tests the relevance of path dependence to smaller firms....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBusiness history Vol. 59; no. 3; pp. 382 - 407
Main Authors Yong Ding, Ying, Kininmonth, Kirsten, McKinstry, Sam
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Liverpool Routledge 03.04.2017
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Anderson & Robertson Ltd
Business failures
Corporate culture
Dependence
lock-in
organisational culture
Path dependence
reinforcement
Scotland
strategy
Textile industry
Yarn
United Kingdom > UK
Scotland
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Summary:This study applies the insights of path dependence theory to a Scottish yarn producing firm which existed from 1877 to 1964. Previous longitudinal studies of firms and their strategies have concentrated on larger entities, but the present one tests the relevance of path dependence to smaller firms. The article explains why the firm studied may be seen as an example of path dependence and lock-in, going on to point out why the generally accepted three-stage pathway of reducing organisational choice leading to lock-in appears to fit the case, but that more empirical research in the field would be beneficial. The article highlights in detail the factors which reinforce path dependence and in particular, the role of organisational culture, which has not previously been demonstrated with any precision.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0007-6791
1743-7938
DOI:10.1080/00076791.2016.1200559