Making Sense of AI Limitations: How Individual Perceptions Shape Organizational Readiness for AI Adoption
Thomas Übellacker
TL;DR
This paper investigates how individuals' perceptions of AI limitations influence organizational readiness for AI adoption using a constructivist, Gioia-driven qualitative study of seven AI-implementation experts. It shows that readiness emerges from dynamic interactions among individual sensemaking, social learning, and formal integration/governance, with hands-on experience and peer networks building trust and realistic expectations. The study provides a five-dimension framework linking micro-level interpretations to macro-level readiness and articulates propositions about trust formation, knowledge diffusion, and long-term adaptation. Practically, organizations should treat AI adoption as an ongoing learning process, combining sandbox experimentation, cross-functional governance, and active knowledge-sharing to sustain sustainable AI integration.
Abstract
This study investigates how individuals' perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI) limitations influence organizational readiness for AI adoption. Through semi-structured interviews with seven AI implementation experts, analyzed using the Gioia methodology, the research reveals that organizational readiness emerges through dynamic interactions between individual sensemaking, social learning, and formal integration processes. The findings demonstrate that hands-on experience with AI limitations leads to more realistic expectations and increased trust, mainly when supported by peer networks and champion systems. Organizations that successfully translate these individual and collective insights into formal governance structures achieve more sustainable AI adoption. The study advances theory by showing how organizational readiness for AI adoption evolves through continuous cycles of individual understanding, social learning, and organizational adaptation. These insights suggest that organizations should approach AI adoption not as a one-time implementation but as an ongoing strategic learning process that balances innovation with practical constraints. The research contributes to organizational readiness theory and practice by illuminating how micro-level perceptions and experiences shape macro-level adoption outcomes.