Abstract
Xerox's attempt to add business computing to its product line the 70's may be an example of a new type of organizational inertia. Organization inertia can create traps within the capabilities and managerial cognition of organizations. Xerox appears to have averted these traps yet still failed possibly due to inertia in their beliefs. After reviewing the history of Xerox and the relevant theory of organizational inertia, a theoretical foundation for the construct of the belief trap will be presented.