Enochs of the modern workplace: The behaviours by which end users intentionally resist information system implementations

Users often resist information system implementations and it has been established that this can cause an implementation to fail. In this paper, the behaviours through which end users commonly obstruct information system implementations in their workplace are exposed. Interviews with information systems implementers threw light on 29 resisted projects across 21 anonymised organisations. The obstructive behaviours identified are consolidated and thematically arranged as a taxonomy that is presented using an historical analogy based on the 19th century Luddites and their favoured machine breaking tool, the Enoch. Although we do not claim that all approaches by which users obstruct implementations are here identified, we believe that those most commonly deployed have been covered. In addition to the implications for policy and practice, this work also contributes to an on-going conversation on the role of attitude in user resistance.