Why European staff systems resembled one another

Did similarities in European staff work mainly come from earlier alliances?

The reply attributes them chiefly to staff colleges copying the winner after the Franco-Prussian War.

The question suggests that similarities in staff work came from earlier alliances. The reply instead points to staff colleges being established after the Franco-Prussian War and copying the victorious model. Institutional imitation is offered as the main explanation for the resemblance.