Shoes that walk giant into a trap : How managerial mindset can turn success into failure

Purpose – Examines how the British Shoe Corporation eventually failed because, as a result of the strength of its predominant managerial mental model, it fell into a number of exploitative learning‐capability traps. Design/methodology/approach – Considers the core concepts involved before moving on to examine how and why it fell into the various capability‐learning traps. Findings – Argues that the firm's predominant managerial mental model had a significant impact on its capability learning. Practical implications – Provides advice on ways to prevent firms falling into the same sorts of learning traps as the British Shoe Corporation. Originality/value – Discusses practical strategies that other firms can adopt to avoid suffering the same outcome.