An innovation—diffusion view of implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and development of a research model

Firms around the world have been implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems since the 1990s to have an uniform information system in their respective organizations and to reengineer their business processes. Through a case type analysis conducted in six manufacturing firms that have one of the widely used ERP systems, various contextual factors that influenced these firms to implement this technology were understood using the six-stage model proposed by Kwon and Zmud. Three types of ERP systems, viz. SAP, Baan and Oracle ERP were studied in this research. Implementation of ERP systems was found to follow the stage model. The findings from the process model were used to develop the items for the causal model and in identifying appropriate constructs to group those items. In order to substantiate that the constructs developed to measure the causal model were congruent with the findings based on qualitative analysis, i.e. that the instrument appropriately reflects the understanding of the case interview; ‘triangulation’ technique was used. The findings from the qualitative study and the results from the quantitative study were found to be equivalent, thus, ensuring a fair assessment of the validity and reliability of the instrument developed to test the causal model. The quantitative measures done only at these six firms are not statistically significant but the samples were used as a part of the triangulation method to collect data from multiple sources, to verify the respondents’ understanding of the scales and as an initial measure to see if my understanding from the qualitative studies were accurately reflected by the instrument. This instrument will be pilot tested first and administered to a large sample of firms.     

ERP plans and decision-support benefits

Management and implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have tended to concentrate on their transactional and record-keeping aspects, rather than on their decision-support capabilities. This paper explores connections between ERP systems and decision support based on the perceptions of 53 ERP system adopters. It offers new insights into the important objectives that are (and should be) considered in ERP plans, including decision-support objectives. It provides insights into the decision-support benefits of ERP systems. The study also examines relationships between the importance of various objectives in ERP planning and the subsequent realization of decision-support benefits from an ERP system.     

Empirical evidence of an integrative knowledge competence framework for ERP systems implementation in UK industries

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems can greatly improve business productivity and better serve customers by creating values through integrating business processes and sharing current information. Knowledge Management (KM) is crucial for ERP systems implementation, but is particularly demanding task. This paper discusses ERP systems implementation in UK manufacturing and service sector organisations, focusing on empirical evidence of an innovative KM approach for improving knowledge competence for ERP success. Qualitative research was conducted, using semi-structured interviews with ERP experts. Data analysis used a combination of thematic and comparative analysis. The findings suggest that the integrative knowledge competence framework can provide ERP practitioners with useful guidance on what the key knowledge determinants are and how the relationships between knowledge components should be best managed to achieve ERP systems implementation success in real life business situations.     

A framework for the ex-ante evaluation of ERP software

It has been widely reported that a large number of ERP implementations fail to meet expectations. This is indicative, firstly, of the magnitude of the problems involved in ERP systems implementation and, secondly, of the importance of the ex-ante evaluation and selection process of ERP software. This paper argues that ERP evaluation should extend its scope beyond operational improvements arising from the ERP software/product per se to the strategic impact of ERP on the competitive position of the organisation. Due to the complexity of ERP software, the intangible nature of both costs and benefits, which evolve over time, and the organisational, technological and behavioural impact of ERP, a broad perspective of the ERP systems evaluation process is needed. The evaluation has to be both quantitative and qualitative and requires an estimation of the perceived costs and benefits throughout the life-cycle of ERP systems. The paper concludes by providing a framework of the key issues involved in the selection process of ERP software and the associated costs and benefits.     

Aligning Erp Systems with International Strategies

With the globalization of trade and economics, large multinational enterprises are turning to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to meet their international information management needs. However, misalignments between the firm's ERP system and its international strategy can often result in unsuccessful ERP implementations and sub-optimal business performance. Building on prior research, this article presents a systematic logic that can be used by business executives to address the alignment challenges. in particular, it provides details on three ERP systems issues that should be addressed: (1) systems configuration, (2) information architecture, and (3) systems rollout to reap the benefits of ERP system alignment.     

Fault-tolerant context development and requirement validation in ERP systems

This paper presents context development and requirement validation to overcome maintenance problems in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Using ERP data of a local petroleum firm, we employ knowledge integration to dynamically validate users' requirements, and to gather, analyze, and represent context through knowledge models. We also employ context-awareness to model the ERP context, along with a user requirement model. We employ context affinity to determine impact of these models on requirements' validation. We apply fault-tolerance on these models by using data mining to pre-identify delays in delivery of petroleum products, and to predict faulty contextual ERP product configuration.     

Development Support Tools for Enterprise Resource Planning

Implementing an enterprise system involves capturing all information necessary to make business processes work in an integrated fashion, and reflecting this integration in source code. Enterprise resource planning implementations should also exploit reuse of existing system elements. ERP tools typically work on top of a framework, using prefabricated modules to create customized variants of the system. Among the free and open source ERP systems, only ERP5 offers a comprehensive set of tools tailored to its framework that, together with other off-the-shelf tools, provide support for creating new modules and entire new systems.     

ERP系统中自适应业务数据单元系统的研究

中小企业ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning)的实施存在需求难以确定及流程经常变化的特点,因此个性化的ERP系统是系统能否成功实施的关键。在改造传统ERP系统的数据流的基础上,提出了抽象ERP系统界面过程中应遵守的原则;在这些原则的指导下,采用关系型数据库封装对象化界面元素的属性和业务行为,实现ERP系统界面元素的对象化。通过销售单输入界面实现的实例,体现了该系统的良好的扩展性和升级维护的方便性及灵活性。     

The Decision-Support Characteristics of ERP Systems

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.     

An integrated decision making approach for ERP system selection

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have gained major prominence by enabling companies to streamline their operations, leverage and integrate business data process. In order to implement an ERP project successfully, it is necessary to select an ERP system which can be aligned with the needs of the company. Thus, a robust decision making approach for ERP software selection requires both company needs and characteristics of the ERP system and their interactions to be taken into account. This paper develops a novel decision framework for ERP software selection based on quality function deployment (QFD), fuzzy linear regression and zero–one goal programming. The proposed framework enables both company demands and ERP system characteristics to be considered, and provides the means for incorporating not only the relationships between company demands and ERP system characteristics but also the interactions between ERP system characteristics through adopting the QFD principles. The presented methodology appears as a sound investment decision making tool for ERP systems as well as other information systems. The potential use of the proposed decision framework is illustrated through an application.     

Integrating ERP using EAI: a model for <Emphasis Type="Italic">post hoc</Emphasis> evaluation

In recent years there has been an increased focus on improving the capability and flexibility of organisational information systems through improving, and where necessary, re-engineering inter- and intra-organisational information flows. In doing so, many firms have realised that the cornerstone of their information systems capability is dependent upon core systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). In realising this, it has forced businesses to acknowledge the need to integrate ERP systems with existing disparate legacy systems. Technology solutions such as Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) have been seen as a panacea to facilitate integration through the use of technologies that allow corporate IS subsystems to communicate with one another. In the context of using enterprise technologies to integrate ERP with other organisational business systems, this paper analyses and extends previously published work through presenting the failure of an industrial automation business to integrate its ERP system with legacy processes when using an EAI approach. In doing so, the authors present a post hoc evaluation model that can be used by others as a frame of reference; a tool for reflection. The presented model seeks to provide further insight to the failed approach to ERP integration, within the given case study organisation. This proposed model, is constructed in terms of Technical, Organisational and Tailorability components. It is anticipated that this will be a useful tool for both practitioners and academics, who wish to gain a deeper understanding of ERP/EAI implementation approaches, as well as providing insights into how the componentisation and extension of ERP functionalities can be achieved, towards so-called ERPII.     

Antecedents of ERP assimilation and its impact on ERP value: A TOE-based model and empirical test

Drawing on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework and prior IT assimilation literature, we develop and test an integrated model of ERP assimilation and value in Chinese firms. We also contrast the strength of the antecedents of ERP assimilation and value across different ownership types. Our empirical results using a survey data showed that relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, top management support, organization fit, financial commitment and competitive pressure are significant predictors for ERP assimilation. We also found that the linkage from ERP assimilation to ERP value is very significant. In addition, the strength of the antecedents of ERP assimilation and value varies dramatically across different firm ownership types. Our study confirms that traditional diffusion of innovation attributes, top management support and competitive pressure are significant during the whole ERP life cycle. Our findings also emphasize and validate the importance of ERP assimilation in improving firm performance, and provide evidence for the continued debate on ERP payoff and information technology productivity paradox. In sum, these findings provide insights into how ERP assimilation and ERP value are influenced by contextual elements, and how the impacts may vary across different ownership types.     

Segmenting and mining the ERP users’ perceived benefits using the rough set approach

Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) systems are viewed as a promising and powerful information technology solution for dealing with the impact of competition advancements and enabling corporations to improve productivity and to operate more efficiently. Although implementations of ERP are complex and costly, corporations may actively adopt and engage in such ERP implementations if perceived benefits exceed perceived risks and costs. A number of studies have contributed to discussion of important factors related to ERP introduction or implementation. Other studies have listed various potential benefits which may be obtained when implementing ERP systems. However, few studies attempt to deepen the analyses of the ERP users’ perceived benefits in order to gain meaningful findings for promoting ERP implementations. Typically, elements of a set of ERP benefits do not necessarily share the same importance. Moreover, a given ERP benefit may be accorded a variety of very different levels of importance by different corporations. This paper attempts to segment the ERP users into two subgroups according to the notion of Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory, and further, to uncover imperative perceived benefits for distinct subgroups of ERP users employing the rough set theory. The results of this study should provide better understanding and knowledge of strategic implications for both ERP system adopters and vendors, and thus advance the scope of ERP implementations.     

Error detection and diagnosis for fault tolerance in distributed systems

The early error detection and the understanding of the nature and conditions of an error occurrence can be useful to make an effective and efficient recovery in distributed systems. Various distributed system extensions were introduced for the implementation of fault tolerance in distributed software systems. These extensions rely mainly on the exchange of contextual information appended to every transmitted application specific message. Ideally, this information should be used for checkpointing, error detection, diagnosis and recovery should a transient failure occur later during the distributed program execution. In this paper, we present a generalized extension suitable for fault-tolerant distributed systems such as communication software systems and its detection capabilities are shown. Our extension is based on the execution of message validity test prior to the transmission of messages and the piggybacking of contextual information to facilitate the detection and diagnosis of transient faults in the distributed system.     

Investigating enterprise systems adoption: uncertainty avoidance,intrinsic motivation,and the technology acceptance model

Enterprise systems are gaining interest from both practitioners and researchers because of their potential linkages to organizational and individual user's productivity. Information systems (IS) researchers have been investigating the implementation and adoption issues of enterprise systems based on the organizational IS management perspectives. However, there are few papers that investigate enterprise systems management and implementation issues based on the informal control mechanisms, although the enterprise systems are control tools in the organization. Specifically, this paper applies Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) adoption and implementation to the informal controls, such as cultural control and self-control, which can be viewed as a tacit perspective in knowledge management. Uncertainty avoidance and perceived enjoyment are used as informal controls in the ERP implementation in this paper, and are linked to the technology acceptance variables to investigate the relationships among them. Sociotechnical design, organizational control mechanism, knowledge management, and individual motivation are reviewed to support this potential linkage in the model. Field data via the online survey of ERP systems user group (n=101) are analyzed with partial least squares and supported our hypotheses. Uncertainty avoidance cultural control and intrinsic motivation as self-control are the important antecedents of ERP systems adoption. Furthermore, the result helps the systems manager understand that informal controls should be applied to the ERP systems implementation to enhance tacit and social aspects of IS management.     

The future of inter-organisational system linkages: findings of an international Delphi study

To perform effectively in markets that are becoming increasingly turbulent and volatile, organisations should form information system linkages with their business partners. This study seeks to produce a ‘vision’ for the future of such linkages. A number of recent developments in information systems and technology (IS/IT) appear to promise the ability to make improvements in this domain. These are electronic hubs, web services, widespread adoption of common enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and enterprise portals. This study, which is carried out by means of the Delphi technique, explores the expected future role and use of these information systems. The expert participants in the study believe that the focus of enterprise systems is shifting from an internal to an external orientation. They suggest that ERP systems may be reaching a structural limit concerning their capabilities and adjunct technologies will be required to integrate multiple inter-organisational operations. The participants expect that the three other systems and technologies considered can provide those necessary adjunct technologies, either used singly, or more likely in combination. Finally, we find that the transition to a greater external orientation is expected to include an extension in the types of organisations that will be integrated electronically into networks.     

Workflow Management Systems and ERP Systems: Differences, Commonalities, and Applications

Two important classes of information systems, Workflow Management Systems (WfMSs) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, have been used to support e-business process redesign, integration, and management. While both technologies can help with business process automation, data transfer, and information sharing, the technological approach and features of solutions provided by WfMS and ERP are different. Currently, there is a lack of understanding of these two classes of information systems in the industry and academia, thus hindering their effective applications. In this paper, we present a comprehensive comparison between these two classes of systems. We discuss how the two types of systems can be used independently or together to develop intra- and inter-organizational application solutions. In particular, we also explore the roles of WfMS and ERP in the next generation of IT architecture based on Web Services. Our findings should help businesses make better decisions in the adoption of both WfMS and ERP in their e-business strategies.     

The role played by interdependences in ERP implementations: An empirical analysis of critical factors that minimize elapsed time

We analyzed the role played by different module types that influence the time spent on an ERP implementation. By using the concept of interdependences together with organizational integration theory, we distinguished between business-support and value-chain modules and affirmed that their respective implementation times would differ. We also highlighted the existence of time-savings and facilitator mechanisms that could reduce the total elapsed time for an ERP implementation with these module types. We found empirical support for our hypotheses by using data from 141 organizations and using econometric duration models. Through contextual, organizational, and project specific controls, our results lead us to the conclusion that value-chain modules take longer than business-support modules to implement. Furthermore, we found empirical evidence of time-savings and facilitator mechanisms in the ERP implementation process.     

制造执行系统体系结构中功能模型的研究

ERP系统面向客户从整个企业的层面制定的生产计划需要根据工厂实际状况进行执行 ，但由于ERP本身的限制及工厂层的动态变化特性和生产过程中的大量不确定性使得管理层 的计划常常和工厂层的实际情况相脱节．制造执行系统（MES）就是为了解决这一问题而发 展起来的．MES是面向执行的工厂层信息系统，为ERP系统和控制系统提供关键联接，能自动 执行计划层制定的生产计划，从收集的实时数据中提取ERP系统所需的正确信息，使企业中 需要相互联系的各信息系统和以产品生产为纽带的各部门紧密联系、协调运作，使企业获得 最大的效益．本文介绍了MES产生和发展，在MESA模型的基础上提出由计划执行与工厂管理 、数据采集与处理两大部分组成，包含10个模块的MES功能模型．     

ERP software implementation: an integrative framework

ERP implementation is a socio-technical challenge that requires a fundamentally different outlook from technologically-driven innovation, and will depend on a balanced perspective where the organisation as a total system is considered. ERP implementation is considered to rely on behavioural processes and actions. It is a process that involves macro-implementation at the strategic level, and micro-implementation at the operational level. This therefore means that implementation in the context of ERP systems is not possible through an ON/OFF approach whereby deployment of the new systems will necessarily yield the desired and expected results. Understanding the implementation process through a balanced perspective will therefore prevent any unpleasant surprises, and will ensure and guide the change process to be embedded in a painless fashion. The balanced perspective means that socio-technical considerations must be borne in mind; the strategic, tactical and operational steps clearly defined; and the expected benefits evaluated and tracked through creating seamless and solid integration. This paper proposes an integrative framework for ERP implementation based on an extensive review of the factors and the essential elements that contribute to success in the context of ERP implementation.