Monitoring path dependence in multi-technological organizations

In dynamic, social and technological environments, organizations must adopt more efficient technologies. For this to be possible, organizations need to maintain sufficient flexibility and, thus, need to be aware of potential technological path dependence. Technological path dependence occurs when an organization's past technological choices and developments create a narrowing corridor of possibilities, eventually locking the organization into specific patterns of technological behavior that are difficult to change. However, monitoring dependence on distinct technological paths is tremendously challenging. Literature largely neglects the question of when technological developments of organizations start to become path dependent and how this can be anticipated. By distinguishing between product-radical, process-radical, product-incremental, and process-incremental patents, as well as developing a path dependence indicator ( P D t ), we provide empirical evidence of the emergence of technological path dependence in multi-technological organizations. Applying this indicator to the oil and gas sector reveals that lower P D t values correspond to higher adoption rates of emerging technologies, which can lead to new technological paths. Moreover, our results support previous findings that emphasize the role of the surrounding industry in impacting path dependence.