This sub-theme will foster exchange of theoretical ideas and empirical insights that might be conducive to further understanding self-reinforcing mechanisms that feature prominently in organizations and other kinds of organized collectivities. ‘Self-reinforcement dynamics’ are defined as a process of positive feedback in which the in-crease of a particular variable leads to a further increase of this very variable. Examples of such intended and unintended processes, which bring about an action pattern which eventually gets deeply embedded in (inter-) organizational or professional practice, are self-justification, increasing returns, positive and negative network externalities, and adjusting expectations.

The sub-theme particularly invites contributions that focus on one or more of the follow-ing issues:

• The role of triggering events and actions in self-reinforcing processes.
• Organizational learning and self-reinforcing dynamics.
• The logic of self-reinforcing mechanisms and their development over time (net-work effects, economies of scale, complementarities, etc.)
• Surfacing self-reinforcing patterns in organizations and/or professions: making self-reinforcing dynamics reflexive.
• Studying self-reinforcing processes and systemic practices in organizations and/or professions, e.g. the mutual institutionalization of professional roles and professional schools.
• Analyzing self-reinforcing processes in inter-organizational relations and prac-tices, focusing, e.g., on science-industry relations, regional clusters, local and global financial markets, etc.
• The interaction between self-reinforcing processes at different levels (individual, group, organizational, network, field, profession) and the underlying linkages.
• Breaking the code: to stop self-reinforcement with the help of intentional and un-intentional activities (e.g. stopping events, break outs, paradoxical interventions by third party, or designing unlearning patterns).
• Designing self-reinforcing mechanisms?
• Characteristics of “lock-in” stages and related events.

The sub-theme intends to foster an exchange of theoretical ideas and empirical research results across various substantive issues that are important for better understanding self-reinforcing dynamics. Papers that discuss such substantive issues, and possibly others, empirically or conceptually, comparatively or monographically, with regard to recent or more historical developments, are cordially invited.

Sub-theme format

The sub-theme wishes to attract both high-quality contributions that are ready to be submitted to a scholarly journal as well as research in progress that is exploring these issues in a first step. It seeks to provide an opportunity for engaging in constructive di-alogue and to encourage mutual learning among the participating scholars. Papers will be distributed in advance of the Colloquium. All paper presentations will be commented by a discussant from the group. Session leaders will be asked to provide an open and encouraging atmosphere for discussion. Special discussants will be asked to summarize the discussions of at the end of each of three days thereby cutting across the various pa-pers presented on that day. In order to allow for as much discussion as possible among the participating scholars, paper presentations will be restricted to 15-20 Minutes.

AMALYA OLIVER is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Her recent research involves inter-organizational networks, university-industry technology transfer, scientific entrepre-neurship, scientific misconduct and change processes within professions. []

GEORG SCHREYÖGG is Professor of Management and Organization Studies at the School of Business & Economics of Freie Universität Berlin. He received his doctoral degrees from Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. His recent research has focused on organizational change, path dependence, and organizational capabilities [georg.schreyoegg@ fu-berlin.de]

JÖRG SYDOW is Professor of Management and Inter-firm Cooperation at the School of Business & Economics of Freie Universität Berlin, and a Visiting Professor at the Uni-versity of Strathclyde’s Graduate School of Business. His research focuses on manage-ment and organization theory; strategic part¬nering and inter-firm networking; technology and innovation management, especially the management of innovation networks and clusters; management of temporary systems; and industrial relations []