[1] Imprinting is generally defined as a process whereby, during a brief period of susceptibility, a focal entity or actor (such as an industry, organization, or an individual) develops characteristics that reflect prominent features of the environment, and these characteristics continue to persist despite significant environmental changes in subsequent periods.
[3] Stinchcombe’s primary focus was at the industry level, but most subsequent studies have examined how individual organizations bear a lasting imprint of founding conditions.
[1] For instance, in a series of studies on Silicon Valley high-tech start-ups, scholars have measured founders’ mental models and initial decisions and then tracked how these founding conditions influenced subsequent organizational trajectories.
[6][7][1] For example, experiences in a particular type of (munificent or scarce) resource environment early in one's career or organizational tenure might influence subsequent work styles and job performance.
In this line of research, the concept of imprint-environment fit highlights that the same imprint may be beneficial for performance in some environments and detrimental in others.