The role of readiness for change in ERP implementation: Theoretical bases and empirical validation

Implementation of ERP systems continues to drive change in organizations. However, the effort is often considered a failure, partially because potential users resist the change. Readiness plays an active role in reducing resistance to such efforts. Therefore, we examined the formation of readiness for change and its effect on the perceived technological value of an ERP system leading to its use. We developed a model of readiness for change incorporating TAM and TPB. The model was then empirically tested using data collected from users of ERP systems in Korea. Structural equation analysis using LISREL provided significant support for all proposed relationships. Specifically, we found that readiness for change had an indirect effect on behavioral intention to use an ERP system. At the same time, readiness for change was found to be enhanced by two factors: organizational commitment and perceived personal competence.     

Active ERP implementation management: A Real Options perspective

Although enterprise resources planning (ERP) implementation has been one of the most significant challenges of the last decade, it comes with a surprisingly high failure rate due to its high risk nature. The risks of ERP implementation, which involve both technical and social uncertainties, must to be effectively managed. Traditional ERP practices address the implementation of ERP as a static process. Such practices focus on structure, not on ERP as something that will meet the needs of a changing organization. As a result, many relevant uncertainties that cannot be predefined are not accommodated, and cause the implementation fail in the form of project delay and cost overruns. The objective of this paper is to propose an active ERP implementation management perspective to manage ERP risks based on the Real Options (RO) theory, which addresses uncertainties over time, resolves uncertainties in changing environments that cannot be predefined. By actively managing ERP implementation, managers can improve their flexibility, take appropriate action to respond to the often-changing ERP environment, and achieve a more successful ERP implementation.     

Exploring managerial factors affecting ERP implementation: an investigation of the Klein‐Sorra model using regression splines

Abstract. Predicting successful implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is still an elusive problem. The cost of ERP implementation failures is exceedingly high in terms of quantifiable financial resources and organizational disruption. The lack of good explanatory and predictive models makes it difficult for managers to develop and plan ERP implementation projects with any assurance of success. In this paper we investigate the Klein & Sorra theoretical model of implementation effectiveness. To test this model we develop and validate a data collection instrument to capture the appropriate data, and then use multivariate adaptive regression splines to examine the assertions of the model and suggest additional significant relationships among the factors of their model. Our research offers new dimensions for studying managerial interventions in IT implementation and insights into factors that can be managed to improve the effectiveness of ERP implementation projects.     

A socio-technical systems approach to studying interruptions: Understanding the interrupter's perspective

The purpose of this study was to understand the cognitive processes underlying nurses' decision to interrupt other nurses. The Institute of Medicine (2000) reported that interruptions are likely contributors to medical errors. Unfortunately, the research to date has been quite homogenous, focusing only on the healthcare provider being interrupted, ignoring the true complexities of interruptions. This study took a socio-technical approach being the first to examine interruptions from the viewpoint of the interrupting nurse. Over 15 h of observations and 10 open-ended interviews with expert nurses in a Neuroscience Surgical Intensive Care Unit were conducted. It was found that nurses conduct a quick cost-benefit assessment to determine the interruptibility of other nurses and whether an interruption is value-added vs. non-value added. To complete the assessment, nurses consider several conditional factors related to the interruptee, the interrupter, and the nature of the interruption content, and different potential consequences of the interruption.     

Drivers and effects of post-implementation learning on ERP usage

Many organizations adopting enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are failing to achieve their anticipated business goals, the major reason being system under-utilization. It is imperative to understand the way users learn to use ERP systems effectively. This is especially important given the integrated and complex nature of the ERP system, which forces users to continually learn new skills after implementation. This study aims to explore the role played by post-implementation learning in ERP usage. Moreover, we identify social capital and post-training self-efficacy as antecedents to post-implementation learning. A survey method was employed to collect data from 659 ERP users. This study finds that post-implementation learning contributes to ERP usage, and that social capital and post-training self-efficacy are important antecedents to post-implementation learning. Our findings provide academics and practitioners with an understanding of how post-implementation learning can be manipulated to improve ERP usage.     

The consistency among facilitating factors and ERP implementation success: A holistic view of fit

Traditionally, various ERP implementation factors have been deemed critical to success within diverse business environments. The interaction relationships among these ERP implementation success factors, however, have been overlooked. The objective of this study is to explore the interaction patterns among the ERP implementation success factors from a covariation (co-alignment) perspective. We conceptualize the “consistency” among the factors that facilitate ERP implementation and evaluate them in terms of their positive impact on successful ERP implementation. The results from a field survey of 90 Taiwanese manufacturing firms show that the “consistency” among these facilitating factors of ERP implementation had a significant positive impact on ERP implementation success. The factors examined in this study include vendor support, consultant competence, ERP project team member competence, ERP project manager leadership, top management support, and user support. Implications for managers and researchers conclude this study.     

Using a case study to test the role of three key social enablers in ERP implementation

The literature indicates that three key social enablers—strong and committed leadership, open and honest communication, and a balanced and empowered implementation team are necessary conditions/precursors for successful enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation. In a longitudinal positivist case study, we find that, while all three enablers may contribute to ERP implementation success, only strong and committed leadership can be empirically established as a necessary condition. This presents a challenge to future ERP researchers for resolving apparent contradictions between the existing literature and the results of our analysis. One possible direction for future research would be to undertake an interpretive re-examination of the rationalisitic assumptions that underlie much of the existing literature on ERP systems implementation.     

Impact analysis of ERP post-implementation modifications: Design,tool support and evaluation

ERP systems evolve in the post-implementation phase because of changing business requirements. Post-implementation changes are likely to decrease the quality of ERP systems and of the data that they use, which negatively impacts organisational performance. We propose a framework for impact analysis of ERP post-implementation modifications. Our framework allows mapping dependencies among ERP system components and, based on these dependencies, automatically assessing the impact of a proposed change on both the design-time structure and run-time landscape of the system through a novel set of impact metrics. The framework also provides semi-automatic support to safely terminating the running process instances affected by change. The framework is evaluated with expert users in two pseudo-real ERP system implementations.     

Modes of reasoning in theories of the social impact of advanced technology: A critique of ERP systems in healthcare

Human-centred systems has a long theoretical tradition within the automation and control community stretching back at least into the 1970s and particularly in manufacturing systems. As automation and control systems are increasingly important outside the factory many researchers are revisiting core concepts within this tradition in order to address concerns in these other contexts. One particularly important sector is health care which, in recent years, has implemented a range of AMAT-type solutions not least of which are enterprise systems. This paper reviews the application of enterprise integration systems to health-care and, in doing so, unpacks several theoretical tensions. The paper proposes a re-assessment of human-centred systems (HCS) thinking as a way to address these tensions in automatic healthcare systems.     

The effects of organizational citizenship behaviors on ERP system success

Although the research on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) has increased dramatically in diverse fields during the past decade, little is known about the OCBs in the information systems area. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of OCBs on enterprise resource planning (ERP) system success. In order to perform empirical analyses, measurements on the OCBs constructs based on the five dimensions of [Organ, D.W. (1988). Organizational citizenship behavior: The “Good Soldier” syndrome. MA: Lexington Books]: altruism, conscientiousness, courtesy, civic virtue, and sportsmanship were developed, and the research model including the relationships between the OCBs constructs and ERP system success variables of information quality, work efficiency, and intention of IT innovation was proposed and empirically analyzed using structural equation modeling.     

Behavioral aspects of enterprise systems adoption: An empirical study on cultural factors

Recently, behavioral aspects of enterprise systems have been called to investigate further in the information systems (IS) community. The purpose of this paper is to apply individual-level measurement of cultural orientation, such as power distance and uncertainty avoidance, to the recent findings of computer self-efficacy and ERP adoption belief, such as perceived ease of use, based on the survey of 101 ERP system experts. An online survey methodology is used to gather data from the various industrial fields. The research model is constructed based on the findings of the previous studies in IS, management, and cultural psychology. The results indicate that low power distance and high uncertainty avoidance cultural orientation influence general CSE. In addition, uncertainty avoidance positively influences ease of use of ERP systems. As expected, general CSE positively influences ease of use of ERP systems. Training and managerial interventions through communication to improve these cultural orientations would be effective for the successful ERP systems project. The findings of this research would be helpful to the project managers, IS researchers, and ERP practitioners who want to understand the behavioral aspects of ERP systems adoption in the organization.     

Information systems use as strategy practice: A multi-dimensional view of strategic information system implementation and use

Information systems (IS) are strategic in so far as they are used to realize strategic intent. Yet, while much has been said about aligning IS functionality with the strategic intent and how to organizationally implement strategically aligned systems, less is known of how to successfully implement strategic change associated with system use – a truly critical challenge within strategic IS implementation. Drawing on a strategy-as-practice perspective we address this gap by developing a multi-dimensional view of IS strategy, conceptualizing three key challenges in the IS strategy process, to explain how and why a paper mill, despite successfully implementing a strategic production management system, failed to produce intended strategic change. We call this outcome strategy blindness: organizational incapability to realize the strategic intent of implemented, available system capabilities. Using a longitudinal case study we investigate how cognitive rigidity of key actors and fixed, interrelated practices shaped the implementation of the new production system. We also identify core components and dynamics that constitute a richer multi-dimensional view of the IS strategy implementation (alignment) process. In particular, we identify three salient factors that contribute to strategy blindness – mistranslation of intent, flexibility of the IT artifact and cognitive entrenchment – and discuss how they affect strategic implementation processes. We conclude by discussing implications of our findings for IS strategy theory and practice, especially the contribution of strategy-as-practice to this stream of research.     

Assessing and managing the benefits of enterprise systems: the business manager's perspective

This paper focuses on the benefits that organizations may achieve from their investment in enterprise systems (ES). It proposes an ES benefit framework for summarizing benefits in the years after ES implementation. Based on an analysis of the features of enterprise systems, on the literature on information technology (IT) value, on data from 233 enterprise systems vendor‐reported stories published on the Web and on interviews with managers of 34 organizations using ES, the framework provides a detailed list of benefits that have reportedly been acquired through ES implementation. This list of benefits is consolidated into five benefits dimensions: operational, managerial, strategic, IT infrastructure and organizational, and illustrated using perceived net benefit flow (PNBF) graphs. In a detailed example, the paper shows how the framework has been applied to the identification of benefits in a longitudinal case study of four organizations.     

The role of goal awareness and information technology self-efficacy on job satisfaction of healthcare system users

This paper investigates the influence of goal awareness and IT self-efficacy on job satisfaction based on the motivation sequence model, goal-setting theory, and social cognitive theory. Using a large-scale field survey of healthcare enterprise resource planning (ERP) system users (n?=?352), this study investigates these relationships and provides important insight to healthcare ERP system researchers and managers. Both goal awareness and IT self-efficacy influence positive job satisfaction of healthcare ERP system users, as expected. Furthermore, the influence of goal awareness is stronger when the role of ERP systems is highly perceived for decision-making of the job. There was no interaction effect between goal awareness and IT self-efficacy in the post hoc analysis. The model is significantly supported by the empirical test with the large number of field data from healthcare ERP system users in the healthcare company. Practical and academic implications are discussed in the paper.     

Gender differences in adoption of information systems: New findings from China

The paper explores regional gender differences in information systems adoption based on a sample of 496 Chinese individuals from four universities and one firm, by a lens of theory of planned behavior. It enriches the literature by explaining and examining the moderating effects of gender on the relationships between antecedents and behavioral intention of using information systems for Chinese users. Contrary to prior findings in the US-based research, Chinese women were found to be more strongly influenced by their computer attitudes whereas Chinese men were found to be more strongly affected by their subject norms. Perceived behavior control was important for both sexes without significant difference. The results were robust across prior experience, ages, educational levels, as well as academic disciplines and job occupations. Meanwhile, the paper uncovers under what conditions perceived behavior control and subject norms will be salient determinants of Chinese user acceptance of information systems. Practical implications about gender sensitivity in information systems adoption are discussed.     

Post-Implementation ERP Usage: A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Control and Empowerment

Organizations have invested in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems expecting to obtain benefits of the system and realize a healthy return on investment. Nonetheless, research indicates that employees rarely use ERP to its full potential. To tackle the challenge of underutilization, this article studies the longitudinal impact of control and empowerment on usage behaviors at the individual level. Results indicate that users engage in different but coexisting usage behaviors: routinization and infusion.     

基于异构系统迁移的SAP ERP软硬件同步升级技术

针对大型企业资源计划( ERP)系统升级技术复杂、停机时间长、风险巨大的问题,从技术角度分析了ERP升级的风险、技术难点和关键要素,并在此基础上提出了一种快速的ERP系统软硬件同步升级方法。该方法基于数据导出再导入的异构迁移方式,使用新旧双路系统升级架构,同步升级ERP系统的软件和硬件,既能缩短系统升级期间的停机时间,又能降低升级的风险。使用该方法成功实现了某大型企业ERP系统的升级,将传统升级方法近80小时的停机时间压缩到50小时以内,并且一次升级成功。研究表明,基于异构系统迁移的ERP升级技术解决了大型ERP系统升级效率低、风险高、评估困难的问题,并且实施容易,具有较好的推广性。     

Safe use of hospital information systems: an evaluation model based on a sociotechnical perspective

ABSTRACT

There is growing evidence that shows Hospital Information Systems (HIS) can pose risks to patient safety when they are poorly designed, implemented, or adopted. Most of the preventive solutions have focused on improving the software design, whereas, this study proposes a model for the safe use of HISs based on a sociotechnical perspective. A questionnaire survey was conducted to test the proposed model, in which a total of 364 medical doctors from three Malaysian government hospitals implementing the Total Hospital Information System (THIS) participated. Psychometric testing and factor analysis of the questionnaire instrument established its construct validity and reliability. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis showed knowledge, system quality, teamwork, and task stressor were the antecedents of safe use of a HIS that predicted the HIS use. In addition, HIS use is a predictor of the HIS use outcomes. Furthermore, HIS use is the mediator between antecedents of safe use of a HIS and the HIS use outcomes. The proposed model has portrayed predictive capability, implying that the model could effectively explain the safe use of a HIS and its outcomes. Hence, the model can provide a basis for evaluating the safe use of a HIS from a sociotechnical standpoint.     

A new collaborative system framework based on a multiple perspective approach: InteliTeam

This study develops a Web-based collaborative system framework based on a multiple perspective approach. This framework is a recent decision support system (DSS) paradigm proposed by Courtney [Decis. Support Syst. 31 (2001) 17] for knowledge management of and decision making about a special organizational problem. It consists of four main components. The first component is a group decision-making (GDM) approach in which many participants' points of views are considered in the modeling of a specific problem. In the second component, many multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques are employed. The third component is an intelligent system. The fourth component is related to advanced communications that are supported by new technologies such as mobile tools, mobile e-service, and the wireless application protocol (WAP). A new software system called InteliTeam is developed based on the framework. InteliTeam can be accessed from application service providers (ASP), so installation of the software is not required. The software provides online mapping, online queries, and online analysis functions for users anywhere at any time. An example of the software as tested on many organizational problems is presented to illustrate its effectiveness.     

Fundamental issues of decision support systems: A consequentialist perspective

While considerable enthusiasm for DSS exists in many quarters, there are still a number of fundamental issues which have not been seriously addressed. Of particular concern, is how DSS is likely to affect organizations. This philosophically motivated paper analyzes the underlying assumptions of DSS and develops an approach for consequence determination. Moreover, the paper uses this approach to assess how DSS might affect various organizational elements.