The following research focuses on the phenomenon of mismanagement around disruptive technology even when resources have been secured. The analysis applies extensive field data collected from firms in the newspaper industry and their response to the internet. The research finds that threat framing helps build sustained impetus and commitment for disruptive projects that would otherwise stall. However, this same threat induced action invokes a set of rigidities that prove maladaptive in the face of disruptive change. The research also suggests that the role of structural is much deeper than previously considered.
Structural isolation creates strategic de-coupling and simultaneity in two critical areas.
First, separation creates simultaneous management of threat framing in resource allocation, while allowing opportunity framing to permeate the independent venture. Second, separation allows the simultaneous management of both deliberate and emergent strategic processes.