Response to environmental change is at the heart of firm sustainability. In the case of disruptive technology, previous research describes this challenge as a problem of commitment. Because disruptive proposals do not fit the criteria considered in the existing resource allocation process, they are denied organizational commitment. The following research seeks to address the phenomenon where incumbents do commit substantial resources, but then force those commitments around their existing business rather than find new markets. The analysis draws on extensive multi-level, longitudinal field data collected from a single revelatory case of a newspaper company as its management responded to the Internet. The conceptual framework for the study links the resource allocation and threat rigidity literatures. The data show that threat framing helps build 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 suggests that the role of structure goes beyond resource allocation. Structural independence creates strategic de-coupling of threat and opportunity framing, allowing the simultaneous management of otherwise inconsistent frames. Keywords: Strategic change, threat, opportunity, resource allocation, framing,

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It is widely acknowledged that the ability to redeploy and recombine internal resources is an important source of competitive advantage. This paper deepens our understanding of the factors a¤ecting internal redeployment by exploring how shared ownership and managers ’ family ties in‡uence top managerial mobility in business groups. We …nd that managerial redeployment is more common in a ¢ liates that are wholly-owned by the group controlling shareholder than in a ¢ liates that are only partly-owned. Consistent with property rights view of the …rm, the e¤ect of minority shareholders in a destination a ¢ liate is especially large when the source a ¢ liate is wholly-owned. A distinctive pattern is observed for managers who are related to one of the group’s dominant shareholders. We discuss the implications of our results for the theory of the …rm and the role of family in business groups.