ABSTRACT
History also plays a major role in the theories of several other research programs, which are discussed in some detail in this chapter. Organizational ecologists were early in drawing upon Stinchcombe’s theoretically rich essay. Recognition of the importance of founding conditions, and hence history, came early within theorizing on organizational ecology. The notion of structural inertia, understood as “limitations on the ability of organizations to adapt”, has been a cornerstone in the organizational ecology research program. History, in the form of population age, has also featured in yet another revision of the original density dependence model. Some of the more recent research in the organizational ecology tradition has been examining the effects of the “genealogy of organizational populations”—not to be confused with Foucault’s genealogy. More relevant in the context of this chapter is the importance accorded to history in the original formulation of dynamic capabilities.
