Abstract

If co-evolutionary theory is to combine both intentionality and environmental effects, then it must also acknowledge that managers are able to perceive and respond to changes in their organizations' environments. In other words, co-evolutionary theory must acknowledge and account for co-evolutionary mental models. By examining a new organizational form in which models of organizational formation are especially salient, i.e., Internet incubators, this study takes a preliminary step towards identifying co-evolutionary models in practice. Building on theories of industry emergence and metaphor, we find evidence that entrepreneurs are employing co-evolutionary frames, but our analysis also suggests that the co-evolutionary models are endogenous to the co-evolutionary process.