Adoption Of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Research Articles

Adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are now offered on the cloud under the Software as a Service (SaaS) model. For small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), this is considered the best opportunity to take advantage of the capabilities of an ERP system without the investment and management costs associated with the on-premise model. Using a cross-sectional field study conducted across four case study organizations, this study investigated the determinants and challenges in the adoption of SaaS ERP systems by SMEs. The study found that the determining factors in deciding to adopt SaaS ERP are software vendor's reputation in the market, software fit to the business, the potential willingness of the vendor to support the customer throughout the product life cycle, the vendor's participation in co-creation of value for customers and the generic benefits of implementing an integrated ERP system. With switching considered a costly option, accounting shift of capital costs to operating expenses is considered advantageous by firms. Competitive pressures faced by the enterprise, external factors, concerns about data security and system performance have no influence on adoption decision, according to this study. Change management and increasing the effectiveness of use are challenges, but the willingness of the software vendor to work with organizations' requests for changes and improvements and the continuous co-creation of value through improved product offerings is reassuring to the firms in the post-implementation phase.

Antecedents of ERP in Service Firms

There have been studies of the adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, the need for research within service sector is increasing. Thus, this study investigates adoption of ERP systems within service firms by a survey. Furthermore, antecedents of ERP adoption are investigated. The study proposes providing an insight about enterprise resource planning (ERP) adoption, theoretical background illustrates the pertinent literature on ERP systems in services and identifies antecedents of ERP adoption in the extant literature. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents, 82%, have adopted ERP. This study highlights and explains the reasons of deployment of ERP systems in service firms.

User experience and personal innovativeness: An empirical study on the Enterprise Resource Planning systems

Although user experience and personal innovativeness are two important factors in new technology adoption, there has been no prior study to test these factors with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) adoption. This paper investigates moderating roles of user experience on the relationship between the personal innovativeness and the ERP adoption motivations. This issue is important because if the user has more experience with the systems then the power of influence of personal innovativeness on ERP adoption motivation would be different. Thus, this paper tests these important insights of ERP systems adoption with the two different field samples with high (more than three years) and low (less than three years) user experience, based on the innovation diffusion theory, self determination theory, and different types of motivations such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. The findings, based on the PLS analysis of the model using 107 ERP end users, show that there are clear moderating effects of user experience—such as impacts of personal innovativeness on ERP systems adoption motivations are higher in case of low user experience samples, as expected. Academic and practical implications are discussed in the paper based on these empirical findings.

Testing Bass & Avolio Model of Leadership in Understanding ERP Implementation among Bruneian SMEs

Abs tract The leadership style of Chief Executives Officers’ (CEO) in adoption and implementation of ebusiness technologies especially within the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have received increasing acceptance in the recent years. This study investigates sixty CEOs’ leadership style towards adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems among Bruneian SMEs. The study used the Multi-leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) from Bass and Avolio (1995) to measure the leadership style. The results confirm that CEOs’ transformational leadership (TRFL) style is significant towards adoption of ERP system. The results were discussed and some recommendations were made for the further research.

Assessing the impact of quality determinants and user characteristics on successful enterprise resource planning project implementation

As barriers to transnational trade and investment have been lowered due to globalization, and information and communication technologies have improved, multinational firms can conduct operations with increased ease. Enterprises can also utilize cost-advantageous production resources and export products to expand their global market. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems serve the purpose and have become useful instruments for managing multinational operations. Notably, ERP systems integrate information platforms to reflect operations at each operation point in real time and generate information as a basis for decision-making and resource allocations. Thus, ERP systems are essential to global logistics management and collaboration. However, vertical and horizontal evaluations of information systems are necessary to determining the effectiveness and success of project implementation. This study examines the impact of quality determinants from literature in assessing benefits using an information systems success model. The cause-and-effect relationships between model constructs are tested using structural equation modeling. An empirical study of leading manufacturers adopting ERP systems is used to investigate corporate benefits related to information quality, system quality, service quality, system use, and user satisfaction. The analytical results can be a reference for practitioners and researchers evaluating the effectiveness of management information systems.

ERP Systems in SMEs: An Extended Literature Review

This review summarizes research on enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems within the domain of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). Due to the close-to-saturation of ERP adoptions in large enterprises (LEs), ERP vendors now focus more on SMEs. Moreover, because of globalization, partnerships, value networks, and the huge information flow across and within SMEs nowadays, more and more SMEs are adopting ERP systems. Risks of adoption rely on the fact that SMEs have limited resources and specific characteristics that make their case different from LEs. The main purpose of this article is to shed the light on the areas that lack sufficient research within the ERP in SMEs domain, suggest future research avenues, as well as, present the current research findings that could aid practitioners, suppliers, and SMEs when embarking on ERP projects. Moreover, this research highlights the theories, frameworks, and research approaches and methods currently adopted in ERP for SMEs literature.<i> </i>

The relationship between ERP system and supply chain management performance in Malaysian manufacturing companies

PurposeThis research aims to improve supply chain management performance through the successful usage of ERP system. This can be through investigating the relationship between enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and supply chain management (SCM) performance in the context of Malaysian manufacturing companies that use ERP system.Design/methodology/approachThe questionnaire survey was posted to the Malaysian manufacturing companies that are using ERP system in order to investigate the relationship between ERP system and SCM performance. The respondents of this study were the MIS or IT executives. A total of 80 usable responses were received and used in the analysis.FindingsThe findings of this research indicated that there is a positive and significant relationship between ERP system i.e. (integration, material management, production planning, and controlling), and SCM performance. The workflow management, however, does not have a significant relationship with SCM performance. The findings of this study imply that the successful implementation and the effective usage of ERP system can contribute toward enhancing supply chain management performance in many ways such as, integration of internal business processes, enhancement of information flow among different departments inside the company, improvement of the company's relationships and collaboration with outsourcing suppliers, customers, and supply chain partners.Research limitations/implicationsThis research focuses only on post‐implementation of ERP system life cycle, where ERP system passes through three implementation stages of system life cycle and that includes pre‐implantation stage, implementation stage, and finally post‐implementation stage. Two or three stages of ERP system life cycle could be investigated simultaneously.Practical implicationsThere should be many success records in ERP system and this is to prove to companies that ERP systems can contribute toward improving their overall business performance. Therefore, this research encourages companies to adopt ERP systems and then contribute to technology diffusion. The finding of this study supports this justification and records a new success of ERP systems in Malaysian manufacturing companies.Originality/valueThe results of this study will enable companies to achieve optimum usage of ERP system after the implementation stage and help to avoid system failure and achieve better SCM performance. The study contributes toward technology diffusion between companies through reducing the likelihood of ERP systems failure, and therefore introduces ERP systems to other manufacturing companies in Malaysia.

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems for Project-Based Firms: Benefits, Costs &amp; Implementation Challenges

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are configurable enterprise-wide information system packages that integrate information and information-based processes within and across functional areas in an organization. They have been widely adopted in many organizations and accepted as a de facto industry standard for the replacement of legacy systems. This paper analyzes and presents the costs and benefits of ERP systems for project-based industries, which have lagged behind other major industries in adopting ERP systems due to their project-centric nature and the high stakes involved in ERP implementation. The challenges during the process of ERP implementations are also identified as part of the effort to understand the implied costs of an ERP system. The evidence of the costs and benefits are drawn from previous studies and the analysis of the prevailing working practices in project-based firms. The classification of the costs and benefits constitutes a cost and benefit taxonomy which can be used to enable executives in project-based firms to make informed decisions on their ERP system investments.

A DECISION-MAKING MODEL FOR ADOPTION OF ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING TOOLS BY SMALL-TO-MEDIUM SIZE CONSTRUCTION ORGANIZATIONS / SPRENDIMŲ PRIĖMIMO MODELIS, TAIKOMAS ĮMONĖS IŠTEKLIŲ PLANAVIMO PRIEMONĖMS PARINKTI MAŽOSE IR VIDUTINĖSE STATYBOS ORGANIZACIJOSE

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) utilization in the construction industry has been limited to large organizations. Significant numbers of construction organizations that have either failed in their efforts to adopt this technology or are not familiar with it are the Small-to Mid-Size Construction Organizations (SMSCOs). Failure in or refusal to adopt ERP by this group, despite all its potential benefits, was the problem addressed in this research. We propose a decision-making model which organizations could utilize to adopt Enterprise Resource Planning Systems. After a careful review of existing technology models, a new ERP Adoption Model (EAM) has been formulated and projected. This model has incorporated new elements that have been set as its new decision-making core. Furthermore, weidentified and ranked the prohibitive criteria that were at play and prevented SMSCO members from successfully adopting and implementing ERP systems in order to increase the understanding of their impact on EAM's processes. Finally, weconducted a case study to analyze the decision-making process of EAM implementation by SMSCOs. ERP AdoptionModel (EAM) provides a decision-making tool that construction organizations can use as a road map. Santrauka Įmonės ištekliai buvo planuojami tik didelėse statybos organizacijose. Daugelis statybos organizacijų, kurios arba nesugebėjo pritaikyti šios technologijos, arba nėra susipažinusios su ja, yra mažos ir vidutinio dydžio statybos organizacijos. Ne-sugebėjimas pritaikyti arba atsisakymas naudoti įmonės išteklių planavimą nepaisant visų jo pranašumų – problema, kuri ir sprendžiama šiame tyrime. Siūlomas sprendimų priėmimo modelis, kurį organizacijos galėtų taikyti įmonės išteklių planavimo sistemoms pasirinkti. Naujas įmonės išteklių planavimo pasirinkimo modelis buvo suformuluotas ir parengtas, prieš tai nuodugniai išanalizavus esamus modelius. Į šį modelį buvo įtraukta naujų elementų, kurie ir sudarė naujo sprendimų priėmimo modelio esmę. Be to, identifikuoti ir nustatyti prioritetai tų kriterijų, kurie trukdė mažoms ir vidutinio dydžio statybos organizacijoms sėkmingai taikyti ir įgyvendinti įmonės išteklių planavimo sistemas, siekdami pagerinti šių kriterijų poveikio įmonės išteklių planavimo procesams supratimą. Galiausiai atliktas tyrimas, kurio tikslas – išanalizuoti įmonės išteklių planavimo sprendimų priėmimo procesą mažose ir vidutinio dydžio statybos organizacijose. Įmonės išteklių planavimo pasirinkimo modelis yra sprendimų priėmimo priemonė, kurią statybos organizacijos gali naudoti tarsi kelių žemėlapį.

Enterprise Resource Planning Business Case Considerations: A Review for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Previous studies have estimated the failure rate of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations to be between 40 to 60%. This high failure rate also extends to ERP adoption by Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. The failure rate is concerning since SMEs contribute to the development of many nations. It is known that the quality of a business case has a profound effect on the outcome of an investment. Hence, stronger business cases would increase the success of IT implementations. Yet, there is a lack of research or guidance for SME on preparing business cases. As a first step in addressing this concern, this study aimed to integrate various business case elements from the academic literature, distilling a set of considerations which SMEs adopting ERP systems can use to develop realistic business cases. The study uses a general inductive approach to analyse the academic literature as a secondary data source. The review looks at the broad area of IT business cases reviewing in more detail ERP business cases at one side of the spectrum and SME IT business cases on the other extreme. The final result is a description and a summary of categorised business case considerations for SMEs adopting an ERP system. The practical contribution of the paper is that SMEs adopting ERP systems may use the proposed framework to build realistic business cases, thereby increasing their chances of implementing ERP systems successfully. Secondly, the study lays a foundation for further research on business case considerations for SMEs adopting ERP systems and the subsequent confirmation of the proposed framework to support the development of better business cases.

Impact of enterprise resource planning systems on company performance and management control systems

Enterprises are facing significant challenges due to the excessive costs associated with accessing a vast market of potential customers. It is essential for organisations to adopt an ERP system to maintain control of their operations and to compete globally. An ERP implementation is expensive and risky for all organisations, but it is still more challenging for organisations, which have particular characteristics. We investigate the role of CRM, formal and informal management control systems as mechanisms which mediate the effect of enterprise resource planning systems adoption on firm performance. Our analyses are based on survey data drawn from 210 industrial organisations in Iran. Our analysis of the formal types of management control systems act as intervening variables mediating the positive lagged effect between enterprise systems adoption and non-financial performance but informal types of management control systems, do not show similar mediating effects. We find a significant relationship between non-financial and financial firm performance. These results are showing the evidence on the joint roles of enterprise systems and management control systems on improving the company performance is very limited. Our results show that the use of enterprise systems results in improved company performance in the long run.

Betwixt and Between? Bringing Information Systems and Accounting Systems Research Together

I n 2008, the Research and Publications Committee of the Information Systems Section of the American Accounting Association decided to sponsor a special issue of the Journal of Information Systems (JIS) entitled ‘‘Reviews of Information Systems Research.’’ The objective of the special issue is to ‘‘publish papers that review a stream of research in information systems (IS) broadly defined.’’ The Committee intended that submissions would review and integrate the IS (information systems) and AIS (accounting information systems) literatures and suggest future research directions in both disciplines. The special issue followed a previous valiant and groundbreaking effort in IS/AIS research integration for the IS section by Professors Vicky Arnold and Steve Sutton (Arnold and Sutton 2002). As editor of this special issue, I took a somewhat different approach to the task than is normal. First, rather than a regular call for papers, I requested researchers to submit extended abstracts. The objectives of this approach were to ensure that the scope of the proposed article was concomitant with the objective of the special issue and to identify any potential overlaps in subject matter. In this process, I was able to negotiate the amalgamation of several writing teams. I also ensured that where there was commonality in subject matter, the writing teams were introduced to each other and worked to manage the writing process. Second, I had clear views on how the papers should be structured. As an author of one of the chapters in the earlier monograph for the IS section, I was impressed with the systematic approach Dr. Arnold took to ensuring a common approach in the structure of the contributions and the discipline exercised in ensuring that the goals of the monograph were achieved. It is simpler to achieve a common approach in a monograph than it is in separate papers in JIS. My ambition was, then, to strongly suggest directions to authors but not to mandate a single approach. As a consumer of many literature reviews, I realize how easy it is to maroon readers in a Sargasso Sea, not knowing how to navigate their way. Readers need clear navigational markers and a sense of direction. Third, I saw the review process as a mutual exercise among writing teams, reviewers, and myself as editor. Given the scope of this exercise, I deliberately took a more active editorial role than is normal. These objectives probably added somewhat to the time taken for publication but did, I believe, improve the quality of the papers.

EXAMINING A MODEL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE BY USERS OF ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a complex system that involves various stakeholders as users of ERP system within an organization. This research is the development of Hwang’s research (2005) who applies the implementation and adoption of ERP system in informal controls, such as self-control and cultural control. Perceived enjoyment as self-control and uncertainty avoidance as cultural control are used in the implementation of ERP systems and connected to technology acceptance variables for investigating the relationship between these variables. Field data taken through surveys of ERP system users in Indonesia (n=188) are analyzed by Amos. The results support the hypothesis of this research which shows that perceived enjoyment as self-control and uncertainty avoidance as cultural-control are important determinants of ERP system acceptance.

Impact of enterprise resource planning systems on management control systems and firm performance

In this study, we extend existing research on enterprise resource planning systems by exploring the effects of enterprise system adoption on subsequent non-financial and financial performance of a firm. Specifically, we investigate the role of formal and informal management control systems as mechanisms which mediate the effect of enterprise resource planning systems adoption on firm performance. Our empirical analyses are based on survey data drawn from 70 Finnish business units. Overall, our findings demonstrate that formal types of management control systems act as intervening variables mediating the positive lagged effect between enterprise systems adoption and non-financial performance. Informal types of management control systems, however, do not show similar mediating effects. We also predict and find a significant relationship between non-financial and financial firm performance. These results are important because the evidence on the joint roles of enterprise systems and management control system on improving the firm performance is very limited in prior literature. Our results show that the use of enterprise systems results in improved firm performance in the long run, and that more formal than informal types of management controls help firms achieve future performance goals.

The impact of project team attributes on ERP system implementations

PurposeThe adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is a major challenge to organizations. Many implementation teams struggle to ensure the success of such projects. The information systems literature indicates that the team attributes of breadth of experience, empowerment, and cohesion are necessary conditions for project success. This paper aims to investigate how the nature of implementation teams may affect adoption success.Design/methodology/approachThe research employs a positivist, qualitative field study approach to investigate the role of the implementation team attributes in ERP system adoption. Project success is assessed on three determinants, i.e. support of organizational activities, stakeholder satisfaction, and system acceptance.FindingsThe findings provide new insights as to the extent to which prior assumptions from the information systems literature apply in the ERP system implementation context. The results indicate that team empowerment and cohesion are not necessary precursors to project success as their impact depends on the adoption context.Practical implicationsThe circumstances under which the impact of low team empowerment and low cohesion can be alleviated in ERP adoption projects are discussed.Originality/valueThe paper offers explanations as to why certain established assumptions regarding information systems teams and project success may not apply to an ERP adoption context.

The relationship between benefits of ERP systems implementation and its impacts on firm performance of SCM

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide managers with a critical insight into the relationship between the benefits of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems implementation and the impacts on firm performance of supply chain management (SCM).Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes a structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the relationship between ERP benefits and SCM performance. Hypotheses derived from the key benefits of adopting ERP system and related SCM practices presented by previous authors. An empirical survey is conducted to collect data from Taiwanese IT companies listed in the Taiwan Stock Exchanges on several aspects of firm competences and supply chain performance that adopted ERP systems and/or SCM systems.FindingsThe results confirm the operational, tactical, and strategic benefits of ERP for the firm performance of SCM in the internal and external business processes, customer service, and cost management, except for the strategic benefits of ERP are not significant predictors of SCM performance in the external business process. Furthermore, responses show that ERP implementations in these Taiwanese companies have a significant impact on other companies, both small and medium‐size enterprise (SME), within the global supply chain.Originality/valueThis study extends research efforts concerning the relationship between ERP benefits and SCM performance, which the unequivocally positive results are not surprising, yet differ from most of other studies. This fundamental framework is expected not only to aid managers to make better decisions on how they cultivate specific SCM competences but also to conclude that future research can extend the focus to the impact on SCM competences of the aid of external tools such as supplier/customer relationship management, and internet‐based collaborative commerce systems.

Exploring An Alternative Method of Evaluating the Effects of Erp: A Multiple Case Study

Previous research has already established that compared to other types of investments, information technology (IT) investments are insufficiently or not at all evaluated. This can be partly explained by the lack of adequate IT evaluation methods and tools. In the case of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems whose effects on organizational processes and performance are intrinsically profound and wide-ranging compared to those of traditional IT limited to some spheres of organization, evaluation activities may be an issue of great concern. This study thus aims to propose and test an alternative evaluation method adaptable to the organizational context, making it possible to measure the contribution of an ERP system to organizational performance in all its aspects. Combining a process-based model and a scorecard model, the proposed method was first designed from a review of information systems evaluation literature. It has then been validated and refined through a multi-case study of manufacturing firms: an in-depth pilot case study was conducted, and thereafter the study was replicated on two other cases. Results show that the method proposed here enables organizations to determine the extent to which the firm's operational and overall performance has been impacted by the adoption and use of ERP systems, through the automational, informational, and transformational effects of ERP on their business processes. From a practical point of view, three contributions must be mentioned: the proposed method allows for a strong contextualization of its application, it is action-oriented, and it allows comparison across organizations even though organizational contexts may totally differ.

A structural equation model for analyzing the impact of ERP on SCM

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM) represent important information technology investment options for operation or IT managers, and have been acclaimed in the practitioner and academic literature for their potential to improve business performance. The purpose of this article is to provide further insights into the adoption of ERP systems and the impacts on firm competence in SCM. We propose a model featuring ERP benefits to firm competences in supply chain management. We also hypothesize that three constructs of ERP benefits positively impact firm competences in SCM. To clarify the relationships among these constructs, structural equation model (SEM) is conducted to examine the model fit and nine hypotheses. The SEM results clearly demonstrate that there exist close interrelations among the benefits of implementing ERP systems and firm competences in SCM. The data from Taiwanese IT firms was collected through interviewing of experts and surveys. The results provide empirical evidence that the beneficial impacts of ERP on the supply chain do lead to better overall SCM competence. That evidence confirms that operational benefits, business process and management benefits, and strategic IT planning benefits of ERP in turn enhance firm competences of SCM in operational process integration, customer and relationship integration, and planning and control process integration.

Further evidence on financial analysts' reaction to enterprise resource planning implementation announcements

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to re‐examine the issue of financial analysts' reaction to enterprise resource planning (ERP) announcements by employing actual firm data and archival earnings forecast observations. As an extension of prior ERP studies, this paper also tests whether forecast revisions vary with the timing of adoption.Design/methodology/approachBased on 188 firms that announced ERP plans during the years 1993 through 2002, this paper investigates the financial analysts' reaction to ERP announcements by comparing their earnings forecasts issued immediately before and after the ERP announcement. To examine the effect of adoption timing, this paper partitions the sample into three groups: early (1993‐1997), middle (1998‐1999) and late (2000‐2002) adopters.FindingsResults show that significantly positive revisions occur in longer term forecasts (i.e. three‐year‐ahead forecasts) but not in the shorter term predictions such as one‐ and two‐year‐ahead forecasts. In addition, there is some weak evidence that financial analysts react less positively to middle adopters than to early or late adopters. This finding could be attributed to the fact that many firms adopted ERP systems to work out the Y2K problems during the 1998‐1999 period.Originality/valueThe main finding confirms that financial analysts consider ERP implementations beneficial to the adopters in the long term. Companies contemplating ERP adoption should take this time horizon into account.

Adoption and risk of ERP systems in manufacturing SMEs: a positivist case study

PurposeIn order to deepen the knowledge and further advance theory on enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation in small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), this paper seeks to explore the following question: what can be done to minimize the risk of ERP system implementation, from the adoption stage onwards, in a small manufacturing firm?Design/methodology/approachThe research method is based on a positivist holistic single‐case design in order to perform an initial test of a process model of ERP system adoption by SMEs. The unit of analysis selected by purposeful sampling is a small manufacturing business.FindingsIn attempting to minimize the risk of ERP implementation, the small manufacturing firm applied three principles, eight policies and ten specific practices in adopting ERP.Research limitations/implicationsThe research design, based upon a single‐case study, imposes care in generalizing the results of the study. This design, however, allowed the identification and understanding of the risk of ERP from a managerial/practical standpoint, as opposed to a research/theoretical standpoint.Practical implicationsIn managerial terms, the results show that highly formalized management is not necessary to minimize ERP implementation risk in the context of SMEs.Originality/valueFew studies have focused on the adoption process within the ERP implementation cycle. The proposed model, as validated empirically in this study, adds to the understanding of this process in small‐manufacturing firms, especially as regards the minimization of implementation risk from the adoption stage onwards.