Critical Success Factors in Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation in U.S. Manufacturing

Organizational leaders have increasingly turned to enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, also known as decision-support systems, to make their firms\u27 operational, tactical, and strategic processes more efficient and effective in the changing global marketplace. High failure rates in ERP systems implementations make these projects risky, however. Most prior research on critical success factors for conventional ERP implementation has been on large enterprises, resulting in a gap in knowledge on these factors in the small and medium enterprises that constitute the majority of U.S. employer firms. A qualitative modified Delphi study with an expert panel of U.S. manufacturing consultants and 3 iterative rounds of data collection and analysis revealed consensus on 8 critical success factors in ERP implementations, with the highest agreement on top management support and commitment, enterprise resource planning fit with the organization, quality management, and a small internal team of the best employees. In addition to furthering knowledge in the fields of leadership and enterprise applications, the study expands enterprise resource planning experts\u27 and scholars\u27 understanding of strategies to improve project success and the triple bottom line for any size enterprise in the manufacturing industry. Practitioners in the ERP industry can also apply approaches outlined during ERP implementations to mitigate risk during these engagements. Implications for positive social change include additional job opportunities and higher wages through increased efficiencies in ERP applications

Investigating Cloud ERP Adoption in Australian Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study

Background: Some higher education institutions (HEIs) are constantly under pressure to deliver superior quality education services at low costs through deploying traditional on-premise systems. Cloud-based enterprise resource planning (Cloud ERP) presents an ideal opportunity to lower HEI costs in terms of scalability and pay-per-use features. Adoption of Cloud ERP is, however, still low for the context of HEIs. The successful adoption of Cloud ERP depends not only on the support of system providers but also on understanding Cloud ERP adoption from the client organization perspective. This study explores Cloud ERP adoption in the context of Australian HEIs. Method: This study adopted a case study methodology involving the in-depth semi structured interviews of several key stakeholders. Thematic analysis was used to analyze and interpret interview data. Results: Based on the case study, our findings suggest that this particular Australian HEI was subject to strategic, operational, technological, and financial motives originating from either internal or external locus. Most of the expected motives were realized, except the full flexibility of Cloud ERP. Four major challenges of Cloud ERP implementation were found. Conclusion: This study empirically investigates Cloud ERP adoption in HEIs by identifying the motives, realized benefits and challenges of Cloud ERP adoption, which bridges the research gap of this topic. This study could assist Cloud ERP providers to adjust their marketing strategies to promote the adoption rate of Cloud ERP in HEIs. Understanding the motives, challenges and benefits of IT adoption in HEIs facilitates judicious decision-making prior to selection and minimizes the possibility of the failure of Cloud ERP adoption

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): a review of the literature

This article is a review of work published in various journals on the topics of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) between January 2000 and May 2006. A total of 313 articles from 79 journals are reviewed. The article intends to serve three goals. First, it will be useful to researchers who are interested in understanding what kinds of questions have been addressed in the area of ERP. Second, the article will be a useful resource for searching for research topics. Third, it will serve as a comprehensive bibliography of the articles published during the period. The literature is analysed under six major themes and nine sub-themes

Adopting emerging integration technologies in organisations

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.A review of the innovation and diffusion literature indicates a considerable amount of research, where attention is given to a range of features which may support integration technologies adoption. However, some literature suggests that the findings derived from the study of large enterprises cannot be generalised and applied in SMEs due to the distinct characteristics of SMEs. Although the adoption of integration technologies is recognised as being different between large and small companies, the literature on its adoption by SMEs remains limited. Nevertheless, in existing work, there is a lack of studies emphasising the reasons why SMEs and large companies take the decision to adopt integration technologies, focusing specifically on the different factors. This thesis therefore identifies the significant differences in the way that SMEs and large companies approach integration technologies, based on the existing literature, theoretical diffusion theories, and resource-based theory. In doing so, the parameters that can be used to explain the adoption of integration technologies in SMEs and large firms are identified, as nature of organisations, company size, integration needs, adoption factors for SMEs and large organisations, and time. Additionally, adoption factors are found and classified into three categories: adoption factors explicit to SMEs, adoption factors explicit to large organisations, and common factors. Based on this, a conceptual model is introduced to explain the different factors that influence adoption between SMEs and large organisations. The empirical contexts of the research are one project on integration technologies adoption, and four case studies on a large firm and three SMEs, which are analysed using an interpretive and qualitative research approach. The evidence suggests that the empirical data complement the identified dimensions nature of organisations, integration needs, company size and time. The empirical data also confirm that the current integration technologies adoption factors reported in the literature can be classified into common factors, factors explicit to SMEs, and factors explicit to large firms, to support a more comprehensive view of this area. An additional factor perceived future prospect has been considered as an influence on adoption in large organisations. The findings of this research can be useful to guide analysts and researchers in determining critical aspects of the complex issues involved for integration technologies adoption, and lead to suggestions for further valid research

An holistic approach to understanding the changing nature of organisational structure

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on an exploratory study to revisit and critically reappraise the impact of IT upon organisational structure, by exploring how the deployment of ERP, when accompanied by a specific strategic orientation, impacted upon the host organisation's structural design. Design/methodology/approach: The study was initially enacted through a postal questionnaire survey of IT managers within a sample of China's largest manufacturing organisations. Follow‐up interviews were then conducted with senior managers, who had first‐hand experience of working on ERP implementations, to help to more fully understand the impact of ERP upon organisational structure. Findings: The study found that the implementation of ERP technology and the strategic orientation of the host organisation are both likely to modify the structural design of Chinese manufacturing organisations. Moreover, it has been found that the success of an ERP deployment is a stronger predictor of organisational form than the scale of the deployment. The results of the study would also suggest that ERP is more likely to affect structural changes, when deployed in the presence of a complementary “prospector” corporate strategy. Practical implications: The study provides clear new evidence that ERP is likely to have a significant impact upon organisational structure, but, because of the complexity of the technology and the uniqueness of every organisational context, the authors offer no simple prescriptions or panaceas as to how it should be managed. However, managers should be aware that an ERP implementation will almost certainly affect organisational structure, and then take steps to ensure that such changes are carefully and proactively managed. Originality/value: There is already a rich and established literature with regard to the impact of IT upon organisational structure. However, it could be argued that by focussing upon ERP, by explicitly modelling the effect of strategy and by taking a holistic view of organisational structure, the paper is able to offer a far more subtle view of the complexities of the relationship between IT and organisational structure than prior studies

Business to Business Enterprise Integration: An exploratory study to develop and test an implementation model for engineer to order organisations.

This research explores the managerial problems associated with adoption of business to business (B2B) enterprise integration in the UK engineer to order (ETO) manufacturing sector. Its aim is to develop a B2B enterprise integration hierarchy to overcome managerial problems and propose a model for implementation. The first part of the research developed an overview of the evolution of the B2B enterprise integration concept, a definition, perceived business benefits and its general status in the UK manufacturing sector. The research is grounded in the extant literature covering supply chain integration, information technology acceptance literature, crisis management and implementation success factors. A qualitative case study approach was selected comprising two phases. The first phase involved key informant interviews at eleven ETO companies in the UK. Three interviews with key informants were carried out at each company. This group triangulation approach mitigated any bias. Four managerial problems were identified: management awareness of the benefits and implementation challenges, risk in terms of return on investment and business continuity during implementation, information security risk associated with loss of competitive advantage and lack of relevant skills within the organisation. From these findings, a B2B de-coupled integration hierarchy was developed and an implementation model proposed. The second phase involved an in case participatory action research study over a one year budget cycle at one of the eleven companies during implementation of a B2B system. This case study tested the use of a B2B de-coupled integration hierarchy approach and refined the proposed implementation model. The outcome of the research recommends a B2B de-coupled integration hierarchy and an iterative implementation model for overcoming the four key inhibitors identified. This is significant for practitioners, particularly in the ETO sector, who are in the process of implementing B2B enterprise integration systems. It confirms that successful implementation can be achieved if senior management teams are fully aware of the potential benefits and the implementation challenges. Additionally, business and information security risks must be dealt with by appropriate de-coupling and the workforce should have the relevant skills to deal with the new systems. From an academic perspective, this research provides two significant contributions. This is the first study to explore the managerial problems associated with adoption of B2B enterprise integration by using a combination of interviewing key informants within an organisational setting and a participatory action case study. Furthermore, it is the first study to propose an iterative implementation model to overcome managerial problems associated with adoption of B2B enterprise integration in the UK ETO sector. It should be noted that this research is limited to key informant interviews at eleven companies and one case study. In order to provide unequivocal validation and generalisability, the research should be expanded to cover other manufacturing sectors

A systematic analysis of ERP implementation challenges and coping mechanisms: The case of a large, decentralised, public organisation in South Africa

The relevance of this research stems from the persistent failure rate of large-scale Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations. The foremost reasons advanced in explaining organisations' failure to achieve the desired ERP benefits, despite substantial investments, relates to the complex, risky and challenging nature of the implementation process. Understanding the ERP implementation challenges faced by organisations and the subsequent coping mechanisms deployed to overcome the challenges remain a pertinent research endeavour. Another eminent area of concern alludes to the limited significance attributed to the systemic analysis of the implementation process. This research describes the challenges faced by organisations during their ERP implementation process and explains the systemic interaction of the ERP implementation challenges. In conjunction, this study identifies the coping mechanisms established by organisations to overcome the encountered ERP implementation challenges. An interpretive research paradigm, in concurrence with an inductive research approach was adopted for the purpose of this research. This study was conducted within the context of a large, decentralised, public organisation. Two embedded case studies within the designated organisation were selected. At the onset of the study, the organisation was in the process of implementing a large-scale vanilla ERP solution. The study was qualitative in nature and data were collected through interviews, observations and documentary evidence between April 2012 and October 2014. The ERP implementation challenges and ensuing coping mechanisms were revealed through the use of thematic analysis. Constant comparative analysis allowed the researcher to compare and contrast the data and themes emerging from both cases. The systemic interrelation and interconnected nature of the ERP implementation challenges were, subsequently, examined, using the principles of system dynamics. Key research contributions comprise the development of both descriptive and explanatory knowledge. The research findings disclose numerous ERP implementation challenges resulting in the emergence of a taxonomy which includes organisational, project management, management, change management, technical and knowledge challenges. The proposed taxonomy provides a comprehensive breakdown and analysis of different ERP implementation challenges which adds to the existing body of knowledge on ERP implementation. The major theoretical contribution, however, is the explanatory theory arising from the systemic model of the dynamics of ERP implementation challenges. The theory provides rich insights into the complex and interconnected nature of an implementation process. Specific implications are drawn from the empirical findings to form theoretical propositions as principles of explanation and generalisation. Another key contribution includes an interpretation of how coping mechanisms are deployed by organisations to overcome the ERP implementation challenges. The predominant coping mechanisms include the use of workaround solutions, workgroups, super-users, and retraining, support, and rewards and incentives. The theoretical contribution can be generalised to large, decentralised organisations implementing ERP systems. The contribution to practice is to assist organisations in their implementation endeavours by empowering ERP implementers with the fundamental knowledge in order for them to better manage the inherent complexity of their implementation processes

Proceedings of the Spring Servitization Conference (SSC 2013):servitization in the multi-organisation enterprise

The increased data complexity and task interdependency associated with servitization represent significant barriers to its adoption. The outline of a business game is presented which demonstrates the increasing complexity of the management problem when moving through Base, Intermediate and Advanced levels of servitization. Linked data is proposed as an agile set of technologies, based on well established standards, for data exchange both in the game and more generally in supply chains

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

Investigating enterprise application integration (EAI) adoption factors in higher education: an empirical study

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University LondonThe Higher Education (HE) sector of a country is a key area indicating the progress of cultural, political and social growth and development. Public and social demands as well as technological developments add new challenges for this sector. Consequently, higher education institutions have changed and a more flexible IT infrastructure is required to enable them to adapt efficiently to competitive business challenges. Enterprise application integration (EAI) is a technology that effectively integrates intra- and inter-organizational systems. Firstly a systematic review of the EAI literature was conducted. From this review, it was apparent that there are no theoretical models for EAI adoption and evaluation for higher education. Hence, this research contributes a conceptual model that includes influential factors derived from the literature and combines them with the proposed classification of influential factors for HE to produce an EAI conceptual model for the HE domain. To validate this proposed model empirical research was conducted. Then, the model was tested using a qualitative case study approach by means of three case studies that were conducted at different universities. Exploratory, explanatory and interpretive data analysis phases were implemented to find what is the current EAI process of HE and how these institutions currently work. In addition, these phases were employed to identify the EAI adoption factors in HE. As a result of this analysis the conceptual model was modified because of complementary factors that emerged. Therefore, the main contribution of this research is a comprehensive and novel model for EAI adoption in higher education area. The adoption EAI factors were identified by extracting a number of parameters from the empirical data. Several important factors that influence and assist the adoption of EAI in HE were identified. Hence, an additional contribution is the classification of factors in EAI adoption into technical and social factors which provides a better understanding of these factors. A further contribution is the derivation of a new classification of the EAI external and internal pressure factors. The development of a consistent model for the adoption and evaluation of EAI in HE is based on these factors