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It’s Not Me, It’s You

Ekholm, Richard LU ; Broad Näsström, Patric LU and Sylve, Christoffer LU (2026) FEKH49 20261
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to explore how digital transformation (DT)
and its rapid development have affected corporations’ experience of horizontal organizational resistance to digital change. The study builds on qualitative semi-structured interviews and applies an abductive approach and a social constructionist perspective. The findings suggest horizontal resistance is prominently affecting DT adoption. To effectively navigate and diagnose the phenomenon, we present a framework categorizing the manifestations of horizontal resistance assumed in DT through two dimensions—the ownership overlap dimension and the barrier dimension. With the two dimensions, a heatmap of where horizontal resistance occurs is presented with four... (More)
The purpose of this thesis is to explore how digital transformation (DT)
and its rapid development have affected corporations’ experience of horizontal organizational resistance to digital change. The study builds on qualitative semi-structured interviews and applies an abductive approach and a social constructionist perspective. The findings suggest horizontal resistance is prominently affecting DT adoption. To effectively navigate and diagnose the phenomenon, we present a framework categorizing the manifestations of horizontal resistance assumed in DT through two dimensions—the ownership overlap dimension and the barrier dimension. With the two dimensions, a heatmap of where horizontal resistance occurs is presented with four combinations of manifestations of horizontal resistance: identity conflicts, ownership intrusion, disconnected departmental goals, and translation failures. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ekholm, Richard LU ; Broad Näsström, Patric LU and Sylve, Christoffer LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
A Study of Horizontal Resistance During Digital Transformation in Large Corporations
course
FEKH49 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Change management, Horizontal resistance, Digital transformation
language
English
id
9241017
date added to LUP
2026-06-18 15:21:04
date last changed
2026-06-18 15:21:04
@misc{9241017,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this thesis is to explore how digital transformation (DT)
and its rapid development have affected corporations’ experience of horizontal organizational resistance to digital change. The study builds on qualitative semi-structured interviews and applies an abductive approach and a social constructionist perspective. The findings suggest horizontal resistance is prominently affecting DT adoption. To effectively navigate and diagnose the phenomenon, we present a framework categorizing the manifestations of horizontal resistance assumed in DT through two dimensions—the ownership overlap dimension and the barrier dimension. With the two dimensions, a heatmap of where horizontal resistance occurs is presented with four combinations of manifestations of horizontal resistance: identity conflicts, ownership intrusion, disconnected departmental goals, and translation failures.}},
  author       = {{Ekholm, Richard and Broad Näsström, Patric and Sylve, Christoffer}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{It’s Not Me, It’s You}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}