Barriers to Innovation Adoption in Financial Firms and Their Effects on Firm Performance: A Study on Technology Resistance

The purpose of this study is to investigate how resistance to technology affects innovation adoption and financial performance within financial institutions, addressing the growing need to understand why some organizations struggle to realize the benefits of technological advancement. This study examines the challenges in adopting innovation within financial institutions, focusing on the role of resistance to technology and its effect on performance. The analysis uses a large dataset containing financial and technological factors from 2015 to 2024, consisting of 33,542 firm-year observations across approximately 3,500 firms, including about 2,000 firms from the United States and about 1,500 firms from the United Kingdom. The study employs a quantitative approach using multiple regression analysis to examine key barriers related to organizational culture, resource limitations, regulatory ambiguity and concerns about operational disruption. The findings demonstrate that resistance to technology, at both organizational and individual levels, has a significant lagging effect on technology adoption, reducing operational efficiency, profitability and market competitiveness. Organizations with higher levels of technological resistance are less able to capture the performance benefits associated with innovation. This study identifies structural and behavioural factors that constrain innovation and provides valuable insights for financial institutions seeking to overcome adoption barriers and achieve long-term performance improvement in an increasingly digital financial environment.