Explaining Organizational Paths through the Concept of Hegemony: Evidence from the Italian Car Industry

摘要

By analysing the Fiat case, we contextualize path-dependence processes within the relations of production and propose a neo-Gramscian interpretation of the agency-structure interplay within path-dependent phenomena based on the distinction between structural hegemony and hegemonic projects. Building upon recent developments in understanding institutional complexity, we treat agency as embedded within, yet separated from, self-reinforcements that are generated by multiple competing logics. The aim is to deepen our understanding of the relationship between collective agency and the emergence of meta-routines in the pre-formation phase of the path-dependence process, and their interaction with self-reinforcements in the formation and lock-in phases.