Divergent Perspectives and Fluid Responses: Multiplexed Framing in Incumbent Responses to Disruption

Research applying a socio-cognitive lens to disruptive innovation has often focused on overall incumbent response. This relies on the notion of binary frames and specialised framing distributions within an organisation where members of a particular unit hold similar frames. Such a conceptualisation fails to account for intra-firm and intra-unit heterogeneity in the framing of a disruptive innovation. To explore the framing processes involved, we conducted an in-depth case study of the response of Insurecorp plc – a UK based General Insurance provider – to the rise of online aggregator platforms between 2002 and 2007. We map different frames across three separate framing dimensions: Challenge Type, Response Urgency and Firm Heritage, to develop a multiplexed model of framing. Although framing has often been seen to be homogenous across an organisation, we suggest that frames are multiplexed and holographically distributed such that conflicting frames can be held by members of the same organisational department or group. While previous research has suggested that multiple, divergent frames may result in conflict and organizational inertia, we demonstrate that it allows for more agile and fluid responses through the pursuit of equifinality. That is, managers can leverage the ambiguity generated by multiple, non-binary frames to select the same response strategies for different reasons. We propose that multiplexed frames can enable an organisation to trial and adaptively switch back and forth between different strategic responses to disruptive innovation as circumstances change.