Identifying the effects of Enterprise System implementation and use: Examples from Denmark

This paper reports the results of an explorative study of six large Danish companies regarding the effects of ERP implementation and use. The study is part of a larger ERP study programme at the Aarhus School of Business. The data collection approach applied was based on interviews and management case writing. The main results show that the effects of ERP implementation and use are seldom fully predictable by management. The ERP system can be seen as an organisational actor in its own right as it to a large extent influences values, culture, behaviour, processes and procedures of other actors in the organisation. Given the complexity, size and organisational embeddedness of ERP systems, it can be said that the implementation project never ends and the ERP system becomes a significant variable in the future direction of the organisationNo keywords;

BLOCKCHAIN – JUST ANOTHER IT IMPLEMENTATION? A COMPARISON OF BLOCKCHAIN AND INTERORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS

In expectation of an impending technological disruption, organizations get familiar with blockchain technology and scout for first value delivering implementations. So far, the promises and expectations fall short and large scale blockchain applications and ecosystems, apart from cryptocurrencies, are still missing. One aspect that contributes to this shortcoming is that blockchain projects face a multitude of implementation barriers, which have not yet been systematically identified. Blockchain can serve as a technological fabric, connecting different parties in a business network and facilitating information exchange. Such systems show clear resemblance to interorganizational information systems (IOIS). Therefore, the questions can be raised to what extent blockchain systems face the same implementation barriers as compared to any other IOIS implementation and, thus, if IOIS literature can be a valuable source for overcoming these barriers? To investigate these questions, we conduct a series of interviews with experts that have implemented blockchain prototypes in an interorganizational context and compare the derived barriers with the results of a structured literature review on challenges of IOIS implementations. We identify technical, organizational and network challenges that emerge along the blockchain implementation process and illustrate how the development of blockchain-based systems extends the existing knowledge on IOIS

The Roles of IS Project Critical Success Factors: A Relevatory Case

Research in Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of Enterprise Systems (ES) projects has identified numerous practitioner governance mechanisms for ensuring project success. However, such research has not developed a theory of why certain critical success factors encourage project success. Our research develops such theory on a case study where even though the levels of several critical success factors were weak, the project nevertheless succeeded. Specifically, the logistics ES project succeeded even though there was (1) only marginal top management support, (2) low key user commitment, and (3) change management, training and other critical aspects of user management and communication were not well done. Using a modified dialectical lens, we highlight that project team legitimacy appears to be the underlying CSF, and many heretofore identified CSFs are really manifestations of project team legitimacy

Development of a Model to Understand How Consultants Manage Conflicts during ERP Change Process: A Dialectic Perspective

ERP implementation and post-implementation initiatives involve changes and thus are regarded as ERP change processes. Conflicts due to various stakeholders’ engagement regularly arise in such a change process. Consultants can help mediate many of these conflicts, but their contribution in managing conflicts is not adequately understood. The aim of this research-in-progress paper is thus to develop a theory-driven model to understand how ERP consultants manage conflicts during ERP change process. The dialectic perspective is used as appropriate theoretical lens which could potentially provide valuable and rich insights into understanding the broader ERP change process phenomenon

Cultural change through the implementation of an enterprise system: a UK university case study

Purpose: Organisations spend a lot of money, time and resources on Enterprise System (ES) implementation and often they do not realise the expected benefits from these complex systems. There is a gap in the literature in providing sufficient insight into the implementation process or how an ES might influence or contribute to a culture change. The aim of this article is to address the gap in the ES literature around culture by exploring the implementation that was undertaken within a large UK university. Design/methodology/approach: This paper contributes to the Higher Education (HE) and enterprise systems literature through an in-depth study of an enterprise system, SITS, implementation within a university in the UK. The study was undertaken over a three year period where one of the authors was embedded within the organisation. Findings: Using a cultural analysis framework the extensive rich data was analysed and the outcomes indicate that SITS has had a huge influence on the culture of the university; the technology’s rigid structure has imposed many changes that had not been anticipated. Originality/value: ES have recently emerged in the higher education sector where they are intended to support the management of student data and provide strategic management information. Although there are many studies which have explored important aspects of the implementation of enterprise systems, one area that appears to have been under-researched is how these systems are implicated in culture change within organisations. The results of this study will enable managers as well as IT specialists to gain rich insights into an ES implementation in the HE sector and to use this knowledge for future implementations

Leveraging Methodological Pluralism in Interpretive IS Research: The Example of ERP as a Complex Phenomenon

Over the years, interpretivism has been gradually gaining ground in Information Systems (IS) research. At the heart of this interpretivist movement is a belief in theoretical and methodological pluralism. In this study, we argue the need for a better leverage of methodological pluralism in interpretive IS research. Specifically, we note that greater research insights may be obtained by considering the complementarity of various strategies of inquiry (such as ethnography, grounded theory, case study and action research) with respect to a specific IS phenomenon. Indeed, we suggest that when complementary strategies of inquiry are purposefully employed in a portfolio of separate studies over time, they may collectively help to shed new light on complex IS phenomena. A good example of such phenomena is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). While ERP implementations in the industry reached their peak in the late 1990s, research in this area is still in a stage of infancy. In this study, we use this ERP phenomenon and the symbolic interactionism theoretical perspective to demonstrate the complementarity of three strategies of inquiry: the “descriptive strengths” of ethnography, the “analytical edge” of grounded theory and the “practical contribution” of participatory action research Individually, each strategy of inquiry boasts a unique platform from which a certain complex IS phenomenon (such as ERP implementations) can be investigated; when purposefully employed in different studies over time, they may help to collectively and synergistically shed new light on the phenomenon in question. By highlighting the possible leverage of methodological pluralism in such a complementary manner, this study may thus have valuable implications for interpretive IS research