Activists pushing for social, political, and organizational change use a variety of tactics to influence and gain access to powerful decision-makers. Research on social movements has shown that these efforts are often effective in promoting change, but recent research indicates that at times movement tactics may provoke backlash. This presentation will look at one of the conditions that generates potential backlash to movement activism: a perceived threat to the power and autonomy of decision-makers. Looking at the context of environmental activism in corporate reform, I show that potential threats to corporate autonomy can induce threat rigidity, which makes boards and executives less amenable to dialogue with reform-minded activists.