路径依赖中的惯性与突破:对传媒创新的思考与探索

Inertia and Breakthrough on Path Dependence: Implications for Media Management and Entrepreneurship

在数字技术广泛应用与媒介环境快速变化的背景下,传媒组织需要在既有的路径与惯性中不断突破,提出创新的思路与方法。经济学理论提出组织发展存在路径依赖的惯性,而管理学理论则指出创新是组织发展的源动力。如何在路径依赖的惯性中寻找突破与创新成为需要融合经济学与管理学理论来进行探讨的议题。鉴于此,本文尝试结合上述理论框架,应用实证方法,分析传媒文化产业中路径依赖与组织创新的关系,并籍此提出对传媒创新研究与实践的思考。

The wide application of digital technology and dynamics in the fast changing environment have made entreprenurship and innovation the core for media business success.Media organizations need to break through from the inertances and the existing paths in order to maintain competitive advantages to achieve sustainable developoment in the market competition.From the theoretical perspective,the economics theories propose that the rationales of path dependence have an impact on organizational growth,while the management theories assert that entrepreneurship and innovation are the driving forces for organizational renewals.Both sets of the theories are needed in order to find a way out for breakthroughs for media business development.In view of these,this article applied empirical data from the media and cultural industries for an analysis on the relationship between path dependence and media entrepreneurship.Findings from the study suggested that the adoptive expectations and the learning effects in path dependence have a negative impact on the organizational innovation,while the scale economy,transfer costs and regulatorary factors do not show any significant impact on the organizational innovation.The study also provides implications for media management research and practices.It implies that,firstly,media managers need to coordinate between the organizational inertances and innovative practices in order to find a position of strategic balance;secondly,economics of scale brought by the path dependence could largely improve the organizational efficiency;and thirdly,regulatory and other environmental conditions would have potential impact on the organizational innovativeness,hence need to be further studied in the future research.