Developer Resistance to Generative AI Adoption: Identifying Barriers in Software Development
Journal
International Conference of Information Systems (ICIS)
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2025-12-15
Author(s)
Research Team
IWI6
Abstract
Actual usage of GenAI tools appears to fall behind expectations within organizations. Prior studies emphasize enablers of GenAI adoption but overlook factors that inhibit adoption. Hence, innovation resistance theory (IRT) is applied to decompose inhibitors into distinct resistance barriers. Specifically, we examine why software developers resist adoption of GenAI despite its promising productivity benefits through 15 semi-structured interviews. We further refine our analysis by considering task complexity and developer experience. Our results reveal that developers embrace GenAI for medium-complex tasks yet often reject it for both low- and high‐complexity tasks. While this pattern holds for juniors and seniors alike, the underlying reasons for their resistance differ by experience level. By highlighting how the open-ended nature of GenAI models increasingly complicates adoption, our study advances theoretical understanding of resistance to GenAI. Practically, we recommend organizations to identify measures that support employees navigating GenAI in augmenting tasks of mid-level complexity.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Association of Information Systems
Publisher place
Nashville, Tennessee
Volume
2025
Event Title
International Conference of Information Systems (ICIS)
Event Location
Nashville, Tennessee
Event Date
15.12.2025
Subject(s)
Division(s)