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Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
This Special Edition of IJHCI addresses the human-computer aspects of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation. It covers the management, social and organizational issues involved in ERP implementation.
ERP Implementation: Chief Information Officers' Perceptions of Critical
Success Factors
Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Kathryn M. Zuckweiler, and Janet Lee-Shang Lau
This article reports the results of a survey of Chief Information Officers (CIOs)
from Fortune 1000 companies on their perceptions of the critical success
factors in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation. Through a
review of the literature, we identified eleven critical success factors,
with underlying sub-factors, for successful ERP implementation. We assessed
the degree of criticality of each of these factors in a survey administered
to the CIOs. The five most critical factors identified by the CIOs are top
management support, project champion, ERP teamwork & composition, project
management, and change management program & culture. The importance of each
of these factors is discussed.
Implementation Partner Involvement and
Knowledge Transfer in the Context of ERP Implementations
Marc N. Haines and Dale L. Goodhue
ERP systems are difficult and costly to implement. Studies show that a large
portion of the overall implementation cost can be attributed to consulting
fees. Indeed, hardly any organization has the internal knowledge and skills
to implement an ERP system successfully without external help. Therefore it
becomes crucial to use consultants effectively to improve the likelihood of
success and simultaneously keep the overall costs low. In this article the
authors draw from agency theory to generate a framework, which explains how
consultant involvement and the knowledge of implementing organization can
impact the outcome of the project. Portions of the framework are illustrated
by examples from a series of interviews involving 12 companies that had
implemented an ERP. It is suggested that choosing the right consultants and
using their skills and knowledge appropriately, as well as transferring and
retaining essential knowledge within the organization is essential to the
overall success of an ERP system implementation.
A Process Change-Oriented Model for ERP
Application
Majed Al-Mashari
Though the application of enterprise resource planning systems has become
widespread, many organizational experiences have shown that resulting
outcomes fall short of expectations. Best-practice experiences, however,
have proven that effective application is centred on an integrative
approach, which seeks to achieve a balance between certain key
organizational elements. This paper presents a novel process change
management-based model that considers the key areas in ERP implementation,
including strategy, business processes, structure, culture, IT and
managerial systems. The model is grounded by empirical-based evidence drawn
from a survey of various organizational practices with ERP implementation.
Analyzing ERP Implementation at a Public
University Using the Innovation Strategy Model
Keng Siau and Jake Messersmith
Enterprise Resource Planning systems have revolutionized the way companies
are using information technology in their businesses. ERP was created in an
effort to streamline business processes and has proven to be successful in
many operations. Unfortunately, not all ERP implementations have met
expectations. One way that businesses may be able to increase the success
rates of their implementations is to embrace creativity and innovation in
ERP implementation. In order for businesses to do this, they must first
understand how creativity originates and how that creativity can be
integrated into business solutions. This paper offers a case study to
examine the ERP implementation at a public university and analyzes the
applicability of the Innovation Strategy Model on public sector
organizations.
Misalignments in ERP Implementation: A
Dialectical Perspective
Christina Soh, Siew Kien Sia, Wai Fong Boh, and May Tang
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are often not fully aligned with
the implementing organization. It is important to understand their sources
of misalignments since they can have significant implications for the
organization. From a dialectic perspective, such misalignments are the
result of opposing forces that arise from structures embedded in the ERP
package and the organization. An intensive case study was conducted in one
organization that has experienced significant misalignments with its ERP
implementation. A typology of the misalignments and four pairs of dialectic
forces were identified. Articulating deeper structural level misalignments
enables organizations to examine their assumptions about the "permanent"
characteristics of the organization and helps surface misalignments early to
aid planning for resolution strategies.
The Decision-Support Characteristics of ERP
Systems
Clyde W. Holsapple and Mark P. Sena
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have been widely adopted in large
organizations. These systems store critical knowledge used to make the
decisions that drive an organization's performance. However, ERP systems are
known primarily for their transactional rather than their decision-support
characteristics. This study examines the extent to which adopters of ERP
systems perceive characteristics typically associated with decision support
systems. It also examines the importance that adopters place on such
characteristics. The major findings are that ERP adopters perceive
substantial levels of decision support characteristics in their ERP systems
and that they consider such characteristics to be important. The study also
examines differences in decision-support perceptions among demographic
groups. By delineating the current state of ERP systems as they pertain to
decision support, the results establish areas that vendors and adopters can
focus on to improve the level of decision support provided by their ERP
systems.