Interpreting an ERP implementation from a stakeholder perspective

ERP systems are software packages that enable the integration of transactions oriented data and business processes throughout an organization. ERP implementation can be viewed as an organizational change process: many problems related to ERP implementation are related to a misfit of the system with the characteristics of the organization. This article uses the evidence of a case study to uncover some important dimensions of the organizational change issues related to ERP implementation. The study shows how ERP implementation can impact the interests of stakeholders of the ERP-system and how these groups may react by influencing the course of events, for example by altering the design and implementation in ways that are more consistent with their interests. Understanding the possible impact of ERP on particular interests of stakeholders may help project managers and others to manage ERP implementations more effectively.

An empirical taxonomy of IS decision-making processes

Decisions to invest in information systems (IS) are made by many organisations on a very regular basis. Such decisions can vary from quickly identifying the problem, screening options and choosing a solution in a very straightforward way, to very extensive and repeated search, screen, design and negotiation activities which can take many years. There has been little explicit research into the process by which managers and organisations decide to develop IS applications. This research addresses this by analyzing 20 IS decision-making processes, using a phase-based as well as an attribute-based approach. Mintzbergs typology is used to characterize seven types of IS decisions from a phase-based or process-based perspective. For the attribute approach, the decisions have been analyzed on the basis of subjective/objective and offensive/defensive contrasts and placed in one of four categories: innovative, rational, necessary or political. The paper concludes by identifying five factors that result in major differences in IS decision-making processes. These issues are: (1) whether there is scope to design a solution, (2) whether distinct alternatives have to be searched for, (3) the degree of urgency and necessity from the perspective of the decision-makers, (4) whether the decision can be subdivided in order to follow a gradual process path (planned versus incremental) and (5) the number and power of stakeholders involved in the process and the extent that their interests vary and contrast. The paper suggests that managers deciding on IS applications should be aware of these factors in order to design a process that fits best with the specific circumstances: no single process should be considered universally applicable. This conclusion is in contrast with many decision-making models rooted in the MIS-field, which suggest to use prescriptive and rational approaches to organise IS decision-making processes.

A conceptual model of enterprise application integration in higher education institutions

Copyright @ 2013 EMCIS.It is eminent that several applications’ systems are deployed at different levels in Higher Education (HE), ranging from academic and administrative to staff and students record systems. Many of these systems suffer from different problems due to the lack of integration such as data redundancy, inconsistency and maintenance cost. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) can provide substantial benefits to these systems, such as assisting with business process integration, facilitating e-service based transformation and supporting collaborative decision-making. However, some factors that influence EAI adoption process in HE will be defined. This paper introduces a conceptual model to explain the outcome of using EAI in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Analyzing the combination of the existing classification of EAI factors with the HE factors will enhance the implementation of EAI in HEI at both organizational and operational levels. A pilot study at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be presented in this paper to show that the integration of the multiple information systems gives an integrated view to facilitate information access and reuse. Moreover data from different information systems is combined to gain a more comprehensive basis to satisfy the educational needs

ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history

Effects of knowledge capabilities on the post-implementation benefits of enterprise resource systems within South African firms

Thesis (M.Com. (Information Systems))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2015.This study recognized as a research problem that the size and complexity of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems makes their implementation a specialized discipline with a number of reported failures. Valuable insights have emerged from studies into factors critical for a successful ERP implementation, however it has been noted that the successful implementation of an ERP system does not necessarily translate to sustained business performance. Literature has explored some of the ERP factors which are necessary for sustaining benefits post-implementation. This literature points to the importance of ERP knowledge as well as the role of other organizational, contextual, and contingency factors in the realization of post-implementation benefits. However, empirical studies of the role of ERP knowledge capabilities in sustaining the post-implementation effects of ERP systems still remains under-explored. Therefore, the aim of this research study was to contribute to this gap. Specifically, it developed and tested a research model underpinned by the Resource and Knowledge-Based View of the Firm, Contingency Theory, and Transaction Cost Theory. A systematic literature review was conducted to gauge the state of the field, and thereafter the research model was developed. This model investigated the role of internal ERP knowledge capabilities, namely business process knowledge and ERP module knowledge, in sustaining the Operational Benefits of an ERP system. The model also investigated the conditions under which it is necessary for organisations to develop an internal ERP knowledge capability. Lastly, the model investigated the role of two contingency factors (structural complexity and environmental turbulence) in moderating the relationship between an internal ERP capability and the operational benefits obtained from ERP systems. The research model was tested using a survey methodology. This involved operationalizing the variables hypothesized in the research model and collecting data through a questionnaire instrument. The self-administered online questionnaire was administered to 900 key informants representing large organisations that have implemented ERP systems in South Africa of which 198 returned responses. Following initial screening, 130 usable responses were retained for analysis. The usable data passed through reliability and validity tests which confirmed that the construct measures provided consistent and reproducible results (reliability) and accurately represented the constructs they were intended to measure (validity). After reliability and validity was demonstrated, correlation and regression was used to test the hypothesized research model. The results of the study indicate ERP module knowledge is an important internal ERP capability for sustaining the post-implementation benefits of ERP systems. The results also found business process knowledge to be more important to realization of post-implementation benefits for firms with higher levels of structural complexity. ERP firm specificity was found to have no influence on the building of internal ERP knowledge capabilities, and the question as to why some firms seek to develop stronger internal ERP capabilities remains a question for future research. The study of post-implementation benefits from ERP systems still remains a topic of interest for both academics and practitioners. Through the application of the Resource and Knowledge- Based View of the Firm, Contingency Theory, and the Transaction Cost Theory this study has advanced our understanding of the importance of ERP knowledge capabilities and contributed results that offer practical implications for vendors and for organisations that have implemented or are considering implementing ERP systems

Codified-Tacit and General-Specific Knowledge in the division of labour among firms. A study of the Software Industry

This paper addresses the organisation and codification of knowledge in the software industry. It analyses various economic incentives to codification, including the need to improve the productivity and quality of software production processes and to access inter-firm collaborations. The paper examines the experience of four Italian software firms specialised in software packages and services. It compares their capabilities, the main sources of tacit knowledge, their specific incentives to invest in knowledge codification, their usage of formal software development methodologies and quality control systems. Finally, the paper analyses two distinct technological collaborations that two of these firms have recently established.

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse