Success with an existing routine crowds out the learning that would find a better one.
Levitt and March's point: the better you get at the current method, the higher the cost of the experiment that would find a better one. Kodak's film expertise is the standard illustration.
In practice
- A consultancy that has perfected one methodology sells it into engagements where it does not fit, because the alternative is learning something.
- A restaurant famous for one dish declines to develop others, and closes when tastes move.