Path dependence, initial conditions, and routines in organizations The Toyota production system re-examined

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to disentangle and elaborate on the constitutive elements of the concept of path dependence (initial conditions and lock-in) for a concerted and in-depth application to the study of organizational change. Design/methodology/approach - The approach takes the form of a combination of a longitudinal and a comparative case-study, based on secondary literature. Findings - External initial conditions acted less as imprinting forces than is suggested in the literature on the genesis of the Toyota production system (TPS); a firm-specific philosophy in combination with a critical sequence of events mainly shaped and locked-in TPS. Research limitations/implications - The empirical sources are limited to publications in English, so relevant factors explaining the path taken may not all have been included. The importance of a salient meta-routine might be firm-specific. Practical implications - The study contributes to understanding the factors underlying corporate performance by a critical re-examination of a much heralded production system (TPS). Originality/value - The paper highlights the use of the concept of meta-routines to connect the core elements of path dependence, that is, sensitivity to initial conditions and lock-in mechanisms.