Perception of the risk factors associated with implementation and post-implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in Jordan

PhD ThesisThe implementation of ERP systems has increased during recent years. These systems bring a great many benefits to organisations but, at the same time, have been problematic for them. A literature review showed that some companies have succeeded in implementing ERP systems while other companies have failed in this regard, illustrating that ERP systems are complex and risky to implement and operate in companies. Perceiving and understanding the risk factors related to the implementation and operation of ERP systems could have a positive impact on the success of these systems. Therefore, it is important for organisations to perceive and understand risk factors in order to make ERPs more successful and reduce the failure of their implementation and operation. Reviewing the literature helped in evaluating previous research work on the success or failure of ERP implementation and operation. It was found that there is a gap in the literature regarding understanding the risk factors related to ERP implementation and operation, as well as perceptions of those risk factors on the part of managers in the same organisations who have different levels of ERP expertise, come from different professional backgrounds, and have different cultural outlooks. This thesis constitutes an attempt to clarify the relationship between the perceptions of risks factors associated with ERP systems and cultural worldviews, professions and levels of ERP expertise. Exploratory interviews, based on a pilot study, were carried out in order to identify the main issues and also to test the risk factors proposed in the literature. Twenty seven interviews were conducted with Jordanian managers to gain an understanding of their opinions and perspectives concerning what they considered to be risk factors. The results of the pilot study elicited 20 risk factors that could lead to the failure of ERP systems during their implementation or operation. A preliminary research model of the impact of these risk factors on the implementation and operation of ERP systems was built, based on the literature and the findings from the exploratory stage of the research. Also, a framework was constructed in order to understand the relationships between different groups of managers and their perceptions of the risk factors related to the implementation and operation of ERP systems. The main groups of managers were information technology managers, financial accounting managers, auditing managers, and others groups, such as HR or manufacturing operations managers. To develop and test further the research framework, a survey was conducted. Based on the findings from the pilot study and the literature review, a survey instrument was developed. A 21-item scale to assess the four worldviews identified by Cultural Theory, a five-item scale to measure the level of ERP expertise, and a 65-item scale to assess perceptions of 27 risks factors related to ERP systems were developed. The questionnaires were sent to accounting financial managers, IT managers and other managers with at least one year’s experience with ERP systems. The major finding of the survey, obtained from a sample of 166 manager respondents, suggested that there were critical differences in perception among participating managers in Jordan according to their differing culture, level of ERP expertise, and profession. Culture, however, had a stronger effect on the perception of risk factors regarding ERP systems than profession or ERP expertise. The contribution made by this thesis is the theoretical framework which was built on an analysis of the findings of this research. This is the first such framework, derived from a literature review and empirical study, that has explored the risk factors that lead to failure in implementing ERP systems and which are most important in ensuring success, together with their interrelationships with managers’ groups. Furthermore, risk factors concerning the operation of ERP systems were also incorporated into the research framework. Since the risk factors concerning ERP operation have not been highlighted in other studies, this thesis adds new theoretical insights to the existing literature. Moreover, this thesis not only confirms some of the factors stated in the literature, it also adds several new ones, such as working with two systems (old and new) in parallel, sharing passwords, incorrect entry data, repetition of errors, flowing of errors, illogical processing, and lack of information quality. In addition, groups of managers (such as accounting and financial managers, IT managers and others, who have at least one year or more ERP expertise) are important considerations and need more attention. The research framework of this thesis shows that the perception of ERP risk factors varied among those managerial groups and highlights the influence of managers’ groups regarding their perceptions of these risk factors, as well as identifying which factors were the most important.Damascus University, Syria

Factors affecting cloud-based enterprise resource planning software adoption in Ethiopia

Enterprise Resource Planning (erp) are integrated software solutions that transform organizations’ internal processes, provide collaboration with partners, external applications and information systems. Extant literature reveals that organizations are showing interest to transit from an on-premise erp to the new cloud-based erp solutions due to their extra benefits. There are few recent initiatives in Ethiopia to adopt cloud-based erp but challenges faced in the course of the adoption are not explored. Using the technology-organization-environment, diffusion of innovation, and the model of innovation resistance frameworks as lenses, this research aims at identifying factors contributing to the adoption of cloud-based erp in the Ethiopian context. A quantitative approach is adopted and survey was conducted using a self-administered online questionnaire using Google’s online form to gather data from employees of Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise. Out of 295 questionnaires distributed, 152 valid questionnaires were collected and considered for the data analysis. The proposed model was tested using a partial least square with the help of the Smart pls software. The proposed model explained 58.5 % of the variance in cloud-based ERP adoption factors. The empirical analysis indicated that Relative advantage, Trust, IT Skill, and External pressure had a significant influence on the adoption of cloud-based erp in Ethiopia whereas Organizational Culture, Observability, and Trialability had no significant impact on the adoption of cloud erp service. The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the factors which affect the adoption of cloud-based erp technology in Ethiopia

Extending the IS-Impact model into the higher education sector

The study addresses known limitations of what may be the most important dependent variable in Information Systems (IS) research; IS-Success or IS-Impact. The study is expected to force a deeper understanding of the broad notions of IS success and impact. The aims of the research are to: (1) enhance the robustness and minimize limitations of the IS-Impact model, and (2) introduce and operationalise a more rigorously validated IS Impact measurement model to Universities, as a reliable model for evaluating different Administrative Systems. In extending and further generalizing the IS-Impact model, the study will address contemporary validation issues

Strategic Predictors of Successful Enterprise Systems Deployment

Purpose The delivered wisdom to date has enterprise system purchase and implementation as one of the most hazardous projects any organization can undertake. The aim was to reduce this risk by both theoretically and empirically finding those key predictors of a successful enterprise system deployment. Design/methodology/approach A representative sample of 60 firms drawn from the Fortune 1000 that had recently (1999-2000) adopted enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems was used to test a model of adoption performance with significant results. Findings Leadership (social learning theory), business process re-engineering (change the company not the technology) and acquisition strategy (buy, do not make) were found to be significant predictors of adoption performance (final model R 2=43 percent, F=5.5, pp Originality/value The “four factor” model we validate is a robust predictor of ERP adoption success and can be used by any organization to audit plans and progress for this undertaking

Strategic Predictors of Successful Enterprise Systems Deployment

Purpose The delivered wisdom to date has enterprise system purchase and implementation as one of the most hazardous projects any organization can undertake. The aim was to reduce this risk by both theoretically and empirically finding those key predictors of a successful enterprise system deployment. Design/methodology/approach A representative sample of 60 firms drawn from the Fortune 1000 that had recently (1999-2000) adopted enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems was used to test a model of adoption performance with significant results. Findings Leadership (social learning theory), business process re-engineering (change the company not the technology) and acquisition strategy (buy, do not make) were found to be significant predictors of adoption performance (final model R 2=43 percent, F=5.5, pp Originality/value The “four factor” model we validate is a robust predictor of ERP adoption success and can be used by any organization to audit plans and progress for this undertaking

Investigating information systems with mixed-methods research

Mixed-methods research, which comprises both quantitative and qualitative components, is widely perceived as a means to resolve the inherent limitations of traditional single method designs and is thus expected to yield richer and more holistic findings. Despite such distinctive benefits and continuous advocacy from Information Systems (IS) researchers, the use of mixed-methods approach in the IS field has not been high. This paper discusses some of the key reasons that led to this low application rate of mixed-methods design in the IS field, ranging from misunderstanding the term with multiple-methods research to practical difficulties for design and implementation. Two previous IS studies are used as examples to illustrate the discussion. The paper concludes by recommending that in order to apply mixed-methods design successfully, IS researchers need to plan and consider thoroughly how the quantitative and qualitative components (i.e. from data collection to data analysis to reporting of findings) can be genuinely integrated together and supplement one another, in relation to the predefined research questions and the specific research contexts

Management Accountant's Role and Functions in the Enterprise Resource Planning Environment - Author's Own Research into Enterprises in Poland

This article seeks to answer whether the implementation of an ERP system has an effect on the management accountant's tasks and functions, especially in the field of performance measurement and internal reporting. The ERP impacts on the controller's role in the organization will be evaluated using field studies on six enterprises owned by multinational corporations. The question that should be asked here is whether controller's functions and tasks will also be unaffected.Celem badania jest próba odpowiedzi na pytanie czy zastosowanie zintegrowanego systemu informatycznego w przedsiębiorstwie zmienia zadania i funkcje specjalisty do spraw rachunkowości zarządczej. Na podstawie studium przypadku sześciu przedsiębiorstw będących częścią koncernów międzynarodowych zostaje dokonana ocena wpływu zastosowania ERP na rolę kontrolera w organizacji. Autor odpowiada również na pytanie czy w funkcjach i zadaniach kontrolera nie zaobserwowane zostaną zmiany w związku z implementacją ERP

Everyone is Different! Exploring the Issues and Problems with ERP Enabled Shared Service Initiatives

In today’s increasingly competitive environment, there is constant pressure for corporate leaders to add value to their organizations. These contemporary organizations are increasingly moving into business models that attempt to reduce duplicate supporting processes and staff by streamlining business processes that are not central to the organization’s operations and concentrating on strategies on strategic or core, business processes. This concept, known as Shared Services, attempts to bundle some of the supporting processes and non-strategic activities into a separate organization, which in turn treats those processes and activities as the core of its own business. Shared Services consolidate and support redundant functions, such as accounts payable and procurement, for disparate business units. By leveraging economies of scale from a common IT infrastructure, such a group is able to market specific services to business units. Many organizations are employing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, for example SAP, to facilitate Shared Service initiatives by aggregating backroom functionality across departments. This research-in-progress paper investigates issues and problems with ERP enabled Shared Services in 19 organizations. The results reveal five main issues that organizations face in implementing a Shared Services initiative

Preliminary Results in a Multi-site Empirical Study on Cross-organizational ERP Size and Effort Estimation

This paper reports on initial findings in an empirical study carried out with representatives of two ERP vendors, six ERP adopting organizations, four ERP implementation consulting companies, and two ERP research and advisory services firms. Our study’s goal was to gain understanding of the state-of-the practice in size and effort estimation of cross-organizational ERP projects. Based on key size and effort estimation challenges identified in a previously published literature survey, we explored some difficulties, fallacies and pitfalls these organizations face. We focused on collecting empirical evidence from the participating ERP market players to assess specific facts about the state-of-the-art ERP size and effort estimation practices. Our study adopted a qualitative research method based on an asynchronous online focus group

Relationship between accounting benefits and ERP user satisfaction in the context of the fourth industrial revolution

The importance of corporate social responsibility is shaping investment decisions and entrepreneurial actions in diverse perspectives. The rapid growth of SMEs has tremendous impacts on the environment. Nonetheless, the economic emergence plan of Cameroon has prompted government support of SMEs through diverse projects. This saw economic growth increased to 3.8% and unemployment dropped to 4.3% caused by the expansion of private sector investments. The dilemma that necessitated this study is the response strategy of SMEs operators towards environmental sustainability. This study, thus seeks to examine the effects of entrepreneurial intentions and actions on environmental sustainability. The research is a conclusive case study design supported by the philosophical underpins of objectivism ontology and positivism epistemology. Data was sourced from four hundred (400) SMEs operators purposively sampled from the Centre and Littoral regions of Cameroon using structured questionnaire. Data was analysed using the Structural Equation Modelling technique with the aid of statistical packages including: SPSS 24 and AMOS 23. The study revealed that entrepreneurial action has weak positive statistical significant impacts on environmental sustainability; whereas entrepreneurial intention has strong positive statistical significant effects on environmental sustainability. Entrepreneurial intention comprised of self-efficacy and perceived control whereas, entrepreneurial actions involved entrepreneurial alertness and uncertainty. This study concludes that entrepreneurs in Cameroon have sustainable intentions to protect the environment but; the current actions taken are inadequate. This research recommends that entrepreneurs should enhance efforts toward attaining the state of genuine sustainabilit