Definition #
The fail state where vendor exit costs exceed the value of switching. The operator is trapped inside the stack. Cannot leave without paying more than staying is costing.
Family #
Performance / Perspective fail state. Sequential consequence of [Stack Drift] — drift creates the conditions, Lock is the trap that forms when drift goes unaddressed long enough. Downstream candidate term. Pairs with [Vendor Capture] (the relational version of the same trap — where the vendor relationship has captured the operator’s judgment).
Why Behind the Thinking #
The operator who audits the stack regularly never reaches Stack Lock — because drift is caught before the exit costs compound. Stack Lock is what happens when the audit discipline is absent for long enough that the stack becomes load-bearing in ways the operator did not intend. Each vendor that accumulates without audit adds to the eventual switching cost. By the time the operator sees the problem clearly, the cost of fixing it exceeds the cost of staying. That is not a vendor problem. It is the compounded cost of deferred audit discipline.
Pairs With #
[Stack Drift], [Vendor Capture], [Orphaned Act Test], [Operator’s Filter], [Lost Opportunity Tax], [Static Decline]
Placement #
Performance / Perspective. Downstream candidate — workshop pending for full development. Chapter 2.X (Vendor Stack).
