CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR ERP IMPLEMENTATION - THE CASE OF QATAR

Due to ERP high failure rate, Enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation issues have been highly addressed in the literatures. Some studies have concentrated on the effect of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) on behavioral intention (BI) based upon the theory of technology acceptance model (TAM), others focused on the critical success factors (CSF) of ERP implementation from personal or organizational perspectives. However, few studies put them together to examine the influence of PU and PEOU on BI which are key factors to ERP acceptance besides investigating the most important critical success factors of ERP implementation. This study is a specific attempt that developed a framework extending TAM model with computer self-efficacy (CSE) to examine behavioral intention to use ERP and then explored the major ERP key success factors that can turn the process of the implementation to a success in Qatari environment. Data has been collected from 40 different organizations of different business lines in Qatar out of which 321 valid responses were analyzed. Descriptive, Reliability, and correlations analyses were conducted on the sample respectively, then followed by Linear Regression Analysis that was done to validate the model’s significance. PU, PEOU and CSE, indicated significant relations with the behavioural intention to use ERP systems in Qatari organizations and contributed to 56% of its variation. Then a Descriptive Analysis was conducted to rank the CSFs in order of significance from ERP end user perspective. The study concluded that PU, PEOU and CSE are significant factors to predict ERP implementation and adoption. Moreover, it explored the major critical success factors that brings success to implementation process in Qatari organizations, which are Top management support, followed by User training on software, and finally Project management process

Risk Management for Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementations in Project-Based Firms

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have been regarded as one of the most important information technology developments in the past decades. While ERP systems provide the potential to bring substantial benefits, their implementations are characterized with large capital outlay, long duration, and high risks of failure including implementation process failure and system usage failure. As a result, the adoption of ERP systems in project-based firms has been lagged behind lots of companies in many other industries. In order to ensure the success of ERP system implementations in project-based firms, sound risk management is the key. The overall objective of this research is to identify the risks in ERP system implementations within project-based firms and develop a new approach to analyze these risks and quantitatively assess their impacts on ERP system implementation failure. At first, the research describes ERP systems in conjunction with the nature and working practices of project-based firms and current status and issues related to ERP adoption in such firms, and thus analyzes the causes for their relatively low ERP adoption and states the research problems and objectives. Accordingly, a conceptual research framework is presented, and the procedures and research methods are outlined. Secondly, based on the risk factors regarding generic ERP projects in extant literature, the research comprehensively identifies the risk factors of ERP system implementation within project-based firms. These risk factors are classified into different categories, qualitatively described and analyzed, and used to establish a risk taxonomy. Thirdly, an approach is developed based on fault tree analysis to decompose ERP systems failure and assess the relationships between ERP component failures and system usage failure, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The principles and processes of this approach and related fault tree analysis methods and techniques are presented in the context of ERP projects. Fourthly, certain practical strategies are proposed to manage the risks of ERP system implementations. The proposed risk assessment approach and management strategies together with the comprehensive list of identified risk factors not only contribute to the body of knowledge of information system risk management, but also can be used as an effective tool by practitioners to actively analyze, assess, and manage the risks of ERP system implementations within project-based firms

Investigating Successful Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation in Higher Education Institutions

This thesis investigates the successful implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). ERP is a business management system that has emerged to support organisations with a system of integrated applications to enhance their Information Technology (IT) infrastructures, enhance business processes and deliver a high quality of services. Research indicates limited success for implementing numerous ERP ventures and failure rates estimated between 60% and 90%. The failure of ERP implementation in higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide is much higher in comparison to other sectors, such as banking or manufacturing, yet limited research has been conducted on this issue. There is a lack of sufficient knowledge, expertise and training to implement such sophisticated integrated systems and top management lacks the ability to take appropriate decisions for ERP implementation. However, merely focusing on several factors influencing ERP implementation may not suffice, as there is a need for a systematic decision-making process for adopting and implementing ERP systems in HEIs. The limited number of ERP applications being used in HEIs has resulted in inadequate research and many issues which require further exploration. Despite this, all the implications for successful implementation of ERP systems have yet to be assessed in HEIs, making it a relevant area for study and creating a need for a unique piece of research work. Thus, the researcher demonstrates that it is of high importance to investigate this area and contribute towards successful ERP implementations. The present study adopted an interpretivist research philosophy and the approach was inductive in nature. To collect the data from the selected case studies, a semi structured interview protocol was designed in accordance with the research objectives which was aimed at getting the views and opinions of both the higher management personnel as well as technical level staff from the selected sample of universities. The study was focused on the implementation of ERP systems for higher education institutions in Jordan. Jordan has the highest demand for higher education in the region and the number of enrolments is growing annually. The demand for ERP systems in Jordan is rising owing to the rapid growth of the Internet and mobile users and the increase in the literacy rate. The content analysis technique was used supported by NVivi11 software to process the data gathered from the sample. The key success factors identified from the participants were split into technical, organizational, project and project support categories. This research made several contributions to knowledge. These included 1) the identification and characterisation of three new sector and context-specific KSFs, namely: the selection of the right ERP system; the need for qualified IT staff for in-house maintenance and fair vendor relations. 2) The development of a framework for enhancing ERP implementation. 3) Evaluation measures of ERP performance from an organisational, technical, project, and project support system perspective. 4) Development of a synthesized model that contains mapped and prioritised KSFs on the ERP implementation lifecycle based on their importance for successful implementation. In addition to these reflected theoretical contributions, this research also highlights the implications on the practices of higher education institutes, particularly for, but not limited to, Jordanian HEIs. The research findings provide an insight into the KSFs that are important for the successful implementation of ERP systems, identifying two new implementation lifecycle stages, the influential factors being mapped across the lifecycle phases providing a more detailed and in-depth understanding of what is required

Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation Strategies in Small- and Medium-sized Manufacturing Enterprises

The difficulty SME leaders of manufacturing firms experience in the executing of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems threatens the longevity of innovative change within firms seeking to adopt ERP systems. Grounded in the diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to examine critical success factors used to successfully implement ERP systems. The participants were four ERP business leaders of small to medium size manufacturing firms based on the east and west coasts of the United States. Data were collected using semistructured online interviews and a review of company documents. Through thematic analysis, five themes were identified: company culture and business process strategy; diffusion of innovation theory and digital transformation strategies in ERP; planning, managing, and leading strategies; change management strategies in ERP; and methods of implementation lessons learned. A key recommendation is for business leaders to identify causes of resistance to the organization-wide buy-in of new ERP systems. The implications for positive social change include the potential for successful change initiatives that impacts employment and economic health within their respective organizations and surrounding communities

The relevance of specific csfs for stakeholders during ERP implementation: an empirical study from Oman

The success of ERP systems implementation is affected by the extent to which stakeholders have been prepared for the project activities and its outcomes. Stakeholders’ preparation needs change as the ERP implementation lifecycle progresses and varies across stakeholder groups. Therefore a dynamic model is needed for such preparation. However such a model needs to reflect the relevance of different CSFs to different stakeholder groups at different stages of the ERP implementation life-cycle. This study examines empirical evidence from a survey conducted in Omani organisations to determine what these individual CSFs are and how they are distributed across the ERP implementation life-cycle for different stakeholder groups. The CSFs included in the survey were derived from a structured review of literature. Purposive sampling was used to select respondents representing different ERP stakeholders groups, all respondents had both experience and knowledge of ERP implementations. The survey data are analysed and the distribution of relevant CSFs across the ERP lifecycle for the different stakeholder groups are presente

Identifying critical success factors of ERP systems at the higher education sector

In response to a range of contextual drivers, the worldwide adoption of ERP Systems in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has increased substantially over the past decade. Though the difficulties and high failure rate in implementing ERP systems at university environments have been cited in the literature, research on critical success factors (CSFs) for ERP implementations in this context is rare and fragmented. This paper is part of a larger research effort that aims to contribute to understanding the phenomenon of ERP implementations and evaluations in HEIs in the Australasian region; it identifies, previously reported, critical success factors (CSFs) in relation to ERP system implementations and discusses the importance of these factors

Hospital information systems implementation framework: critical success factors for Malaysian public hospitals

The delivery of high quality health services is among the most important government policies in healthcare; it is demonstrated via the significant investment committed to expand the sector. In order to provide quality health services, Hospital Information Systems (HIS) development and adoption has to be initiated; though evidence has shown that implementing HIS is not easy. To ensure continuous successful implementation, the understanding and determination of HIS implementation factors has become a crucial consideration for health providers. This study, instigated to alleviate this problem, identified critical factors that influence HIS implementation and examined structured indicators to measure HIS implementation.Based on the critical success factors (CSFs) and DeLone and McLean’s Information Systems success model, the research study developed an implementation framework comprised of essential elements to guide HIS implementation. In the framework, the DeLone and McLean IS success measures were adapted and presented as a reflective second order factor to capture the multifaceted nature of success. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed to six public hospitals in Malaysia and 213 were used for analysis. This reflects a high response rate of 42.6 percent. To evaluate the extent of success, the partial least squares (PLS) based structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was employed. The findings of the study revealed that the CSFs in Malaysia differ from studies in developed countries. Three out of seven success factors namely system selection, enterprise-wide communication and team composition proved to be significant. Key implementation factors such as top management support, business planning, project management and change management were found to be insignificant.The study is among the few that have tested empirically an implementation framework in the Malaysian settings; as such, it contributes significantly to theoretical, methodological and practical aspects of research. Theoretically, it established a new classification of CSFs that could influence HIS implementation. This new categorization is a significant effort to provide a practical list of CSFs that allows practitioners to focus on key areas during system implementation.Additionally, the study presents a new model that suggests links or correlations between the CSFs and how these factors should be implemented.With regard to research methodology, the study collected data from Malaysian public hospitals having a Total Hospital Information System (THIS) implementation; the type of data is rare considering the complex procedures involved. Also, the quantitative approach employed is suitable to attest the effectiveness of the implementation model. This study also utilized the SEM component-based or PLS analysis for assessing the implementation model. At present, it is still uncommon to find HIS implementation studies that utilize PLS analysis in Malaysia.In terms of a practical contribution, the study provides guidelines for managers in decision-making and planning future HIS implementation. The risks of failures for HIS implementation could be reduced as the study also proposed the approach on how the CSFs should be implemented. Most importantly, this study has established a model that could assists practitioners and researchers in understanding the implementation process of HIS, specifically for Malaysian public hospitals. Additionally, its contribution can be used in analogous domains such as information systems (IS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and enterprise systems (ES)

Challenges and influential factors in ERP adoption and implementation

The adoption and implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is a challenging and expensive task that not only requires rigorous efforts but also demands to have a detailed analysis of such factors that are critical to the adoption or implementation of ERP systems. Many efforts have been made to identify such influential factors for ERP; however, they are not filtered comprehensively in terms of the different perspectives. This paper focuses on the ERP critical success factors from five different perspectives such as: stakeholders; process; technology; organisation; and project. Results from the literature review are presented and 19 such factors are identified that are imperative for a successful ERP implementation, which are listed in order of their importance. Considering these factors can realize several benefits such as reducing costs and saving time or extra effort

Goals/questions/metrics method and SAP implementation projects

During the last years some researchers have studied the critical success factors (CSFs) in ERP implementations. However, until now, no one has studied how these CSFs should be put in practice to help organizations achieve success in ERP implementations. This technical research report attempts to define the usage of Goals/Questions/Metrics (GQM) approach in the definition of a measurement system for ERP implementation projects. GQM approach is a mechanism for defining and interpreting operational, measurable goals. Lately, because of its intuitive nature the approach has gained widespread appeal. We present a metrics overview and a description of GQM approach. Then we provide an example of GQM application for monitoring sustained management support in ERP implementations. Sustained management support is the most cited critical success factor in ERP implementation projects.Postprint (published version

SMEs COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING IMPLEMENTATION: FINDING FROM CENTRAL JAVA

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an integrated application software for widespread use in the organization. The aim of this study is to determine factors that affect the successful implementation of ERP in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Central Java in order to build competitive advantage. To test the hypothesis, this study utilized data from 107 SMEs in Central Java. The results revealed that variable Business Process Reengineering have the greatest influence toward the successful implementation in Small and Medium Enterprises. It is suggested that SMEs should gain knowledge and solidify its business process reengineering before implementing ERP