Managing Loose Coupling in the Implementation of Large-Scale ERP

This paper presents a case study of implementation of a complex ERP by a worldwide company withheadquarters in the US (Iris Co). Organizational units are represented as systems which interact inthe process of technology appropriation. We study the interactions between the implementation oflarge-scale IS and management of the tradeoff between non-coupled vs. tightly coupled systems. Wefocus on the process and the dialectic of loosely coupled systems as a way to balance efficiency andflexibility when organizations are required to achieve efficiency through centralization and control atthe expense of autonomy and flexibility. Our findings highlight the importance of developing learningskill for achieving this balance

Why Does The System Usage Differ Between Organizational Units? - A Case Study In A Knowledge-Intensive Project Organization

This paper seeks to examine how a case company exploits new staffing procedures and enterprise system (ES) functionalities in order to improve allocation and control of project resources. The paper relies on qualitative data collected through an in-depth case study in a large European high-tech company over a period of one and a half years. In order to understand the system usage in the case company the paper employs institutional theory and Orton and Weick’s concept of coupling. By combining the concept of coupling with the elements of system usage - work assignment, user, and system –, the paper explains why system usage differs between organizational units. Findings show how the use of new ES functionalities is influenced by features of organizational unit, features of work assignment, individual characteristics as well as target customer. The paper also recommends selective system use in a knowledge-intensive project organization

Exploring the Renewal of IT-enabled Resources from a Structural Perspective

Organizations are exposed to ever-increasing dynamic environments, making sustaining the derivation of IT benefits critical. However, researchers have observed that IT benefits are short-lived and have called for studies on how organizations can sustain the derivation of IT benefits, especially in dynamic environments. Research shows that the integration of IT assets and other organizational resources needed to form IT-enabled resources from which organizations derive IT benefits can also constrain the renewal of IT-enabled resources to sustain the derivation of IT benefits. In this study, we draw on relevant theories, published empirical cases, and a primary case study to explore, from a structural perspective, the renewal of IT-enabled resources to sustain the derivation of IT benefits. We find that certain structural properties (i.e., component flexibility, component centrality, and component coupling) emerge during the formation and modification of IT-enabled resources and influence the renewal of IT-enabled resources. We extend Nevo and Wade’s model on the formation of IT-enabled resources with the structural properties and offer eight propositions on how the structural properties and organizational capabilities influence the renewal of IT-enabled resources. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications and identify areas for future research

Exploring the renewal of IT-enabled resources from a structural perspective

Organizations are exposed to ever-increasing dynamic environments making the need to sustain the derivation of IT benefits critical. However, researchers have observed that IT benefits are short-lived and have called for studies on how organizations can sustain the derivation of IT benefits especially in dynamic environments. Research shows that the integration of IT assets and other organizational resources needed to form IT-enabled resources from which organizations derive IT benefits can also constrain the renewal of IT-enabled resources to sustain the derivation of IT benefits. In this study, we draw on relevant theories, published empirical cases, and a primary case study to explore, from a structural perspective, the renewal of IT-enabled resources to sustain the derivation of IT benefits. We find that certain structural properties (i.e., component flexibility, component centrality, and component coupling) emerge during the formation and modification of IT-enabled resources and influence the renewal of IT-enabled resources. We extend Nevo and Wade’s model on the formation of IT-enabled resources with the structural properties and offer eight propositions on how the structural properties and organizational capabilities influence the renewal of IT-enabled resources. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications and identify areas for future research

The interaction between an enterprise system and a knowledge-intensive project organization : a case study of project staffing

Knowledge-intensive project organizations compete in an increasingly dense global web of customers and suppliers. In this global web, organizations seek new ways to deliver projects and services more efficiently. One way to increase efficiency is restructuring in order to become more customer oriented through flattening organizational structure and distributing work across the globe. This kind of decentralized organization relies heavily on distributed teams and several IT tools, such as global Enterprise Systems (ES, and their primary form Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP) and different collaboration devices. In this dissertation I take an exploratory approach on the interaction between a knowledgeintensive project organization and an enterprise system. In the case study I follow how a large project organization transforms from a silo organization into a more integrated matrix model. This case study extends over a period of two and a half years. During the same period, the company implements new ES functionalities in order to support its strategic change relating to a new operating model. I demonstrate the interaction between the ES and the organization by using a part of the new operating model, a project staffing process, as an example of organizational processes that are supported by new enterprise system functionalities. The project staffing process exploits traditional HR data such as competence catalogues and employees’ workload data to optimize resource use. By applying grounded theory I investigate research questions that emerged from the empirical data. Despite the growing literature regarding the interplay between the enterprise system and organization, this complex interaction is not thoroughly understood. I employ theories and models relating to neo-institutional theory, organizational change, sociomateriality, human and machine agencies, affordances, loose coupling, system usage, boundary objects and boundary spanning. In the four research papers forming the body of this thesis I provide new perspectives on the interplay between the enterprise system and knowledge-intensive project organization in managing resources in project business. The main contribution of my study is that the knowledge-intensive project organization sets special challenges for the assimilation and use of new ES functionalities. Particularly, the complexity of the company’s professional services and projects creates different managerial implications and organizational responses within the company. In addition, the new HR-related ES functionalities set some specific challenges for the system assimilation and use in the knowledge-intensive project organization