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Management & Leadership vocabulary · Change Management

Path dependence

Meaning in management & leadership, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In management & leadership, path dependence means: The way earlier choices and developments constrain or reinforce the options available later.

In Turkish: patika bağımlılığı

How it is used

Use when a sequence of past decisions shapes present possibilities, not merely because a decision happened in the past.

Example sentences

  1. Path dependence made it difficult to replace a system around which years of training had been built.

    Accumulated complementary practices reinforce an earlier technology choice.

  2. The merger review traced path dependence in how regional offices had developed separate procedures.

    Different historical sequences help explain persistent differences today.

Common collocations

  • historical path dependence
  • path dependence in organisations
  • change managementThe planned way an organisation prepares, supports and guides people through a major change, such as a new system or a merger, so that the change is accepted and lasts.
  • restructuringA major change to how a company is organised, such as merging departments, removing management layers or reducing staff, usually to cut costs or support a new strategy.

More terms: Change Management

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