User resistance determinants and the psychological contract in enterprise system implementations

User resistance is an important issue in the implementation of enterprise systems (ES). However, despite a large body of user acceptance literature, there is far less literature addressing user resistance. This study seeks to better understand the development of user resistance. Information is obtained and triangulated in this study from a focus group and semi-structured user interviews from three organizations. Through the lens of the psychological contract employees have with their organization, user resistance is investigated. Twelve determinants were found that upset the psychological contract and affect the level of user resistance. These determinants have been classified into four key categories which expand on previous literature: individual, system, organizational, and process issues. The relationships among these concepts and both the theoretical and practical contributions of this study are discussed. European Journal of Information Systems (2010) 19, 625-636. doi:10.1057/ejis.2010.39; published online 13 July 2010