Integrating Individual Readiness for Change in IT Portfolio Management: A Systematic Literature Review

IT Portfolio Management (ITPM) is becoming an increasingly relevant discipline in the era of digital transformation to ensure that technology investments are aligned with strategy and deliver value. However, many companies face challenges in realizing this value because IT projects often fail to be adopted at the user level due to human factors such as resistance. It is still unclear to what extent the existing ITPM literature has integrated individual readiness for change into its processes. This Systematic Literature Review (SLR) aims to: (1) review and synthesize ITPM practices and challenges related to user adoption; (2) identify key factors of individual readiness that influence the success of IT projects; and (3) identify research gaps and propose a future research agenda for the integration of these two domains. From an initial collection of 1,630 articles, systematically selected and analyzed 31 Q1 and Q2 peer-reviewed journal articles (2020-2025). The findings show that contemporary ITPM practices are shifting towards Agile and Ambidexterity but face the challenge of neglecting human factors. Key individual readiness factors include Resistance to Change, Self-Efficacy, and Leadership Commitment. This study identifies a critical gap: the absence of a formal process model that systematically integrates individual readiness assessments (micro level) into ITPM governance (macro level). It highlights the need to bridge this gap in order to increase value realization.