Habitual Path Dependence of Interorganizational Relationships—A Response to Sydow

In “Path Dependence and the Roots of Interorganizational Relationship Challenges,” recently published by PPMG, we suggested the utility of path dependency theory in unpacking the developmental dynamics that may feed into contemporary problems of management and governance. Professor Jörg Sydow was moved to submit commentary on our article; we respond to his thoughtful comments in this essay.

Habitual Path Dependence of Interorganizational Relationships?—A Commentary on Sedgwick and Jensen

This is a commentary to a former paper by Sedwick and Jensen published in this very journal. On the one hand, the commentary praises the paper’s urgently needed focus on interorganizational relationships and empirical richness. On the other, the commentary questions habitual path dependence as a theoretically useful concept.

A Tribute to H. George Fredrickson

During his 50-year career, H. George Frederickson contributed on multiple fronts: to better government, to a more thoughtful and rigorous public administration field, to better scholarship, to a network of scholars, and to collaborative interaction among practitioners and scholars. He was the founding Editor of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory as well as the Journal of Public Administration Education. He was one of the founders of the Public Management Research Association (PMRA) and was instrumental in establishing the world headquarters of PMRA at the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs, where he was the Edwin O. Stene Distinguished Professor. He was President of Eastern Washington University. A gifted writer and thinker who excelled in both breadth and depth, George published important articles and books, and won many awards for his scholarship. Most importantly, he was a catalyst for establishing social equity as the “third pillar” of public administration. In this article, five public administration scholars pay tribute to H. George Frederickson’s most influential scholarly works, with an emphasis on social equity and accountability. George’s impact outside of the United States, especially in South Korea, also is highlighted.