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AIS Newsletter |
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IS SECTION / AMERICAN ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATION. |
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In the Literature : Research On ERP and Packaged Software Issues |
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Research on ERP Issues
Thomas C. McGinnis and Zhenyu Huang, 2007. Rethinking ERP Success: A New Perspective from Knowledge Management and Continuous Improvement, Information & Management, Volume 44, Issue 7, pp. 626-634, October.
The authors state that most IS research about ERP implementation stops short at system start-up and seldom addresses post-implementation issues. However, ERP implementation is a continuous improvement effort and continued efforts after system start-up will influence the ultimate success of an ERP implemented system. The authors defined a four-phase ERP refinement model that incorporated knowledge management (KM) into each major implementation phase. This knowledge-enhanced ERP implementation model adds insights when used to investigate ERP success. It also provides practitioners with a guideline for incorporation of KM into their ERP strategy to improve success rates of ERP systems.
Jen-Her Wu, Shin-Shing Shin, Michael S. H. Heng, 2007. A Methodology for ERP Misfit Analysis, Information & Management, Volume 44, Issue 8, pp. 666-680, December.
The authors state that commercial off-the-shelf ERP systems have been adopted by many large companies to support their inter- and intra-business processes. Midsize market firms are now also investing their use. However, research has indicated that about three quarters of attempted ERP projects are unsuccessful: a common problem encountered in adopting ERP software has been the issue of fit or alignment. This paper presents an ERP selection methodology, grounded in task-technology fits theory, for measuring, at a high-level, the misfit between ERP candidates and the enterprise's requirements ex-ante implementation. With this approach, organizations can more easily and systematically determine the locations of possible misfit and their degree of importance, thereby understanding the risk in their implementing an ERP. The authors state that their research contributes practical solutions to the problem of misfit analysis and ERP package selection.
Research on Packaged Software Issues
Huoy Min Khoo and Daniel Robey, 2007. Deciding to Upgrade Packaged Software: A Comparative Case Study of Motives, Contingencies and Dependencies, European Journal of Information Systems, Volume 16, pp. 555-567.
The authors state that packaged software is widely adopted and has become an integral part of most organizations' IT portfolios. Once packaged software is adopted, upgrades to subsequent versions appear to be inevitable. To date, research on packaged software has not paid attention to the upgrade decision process. To explore this area, the authors studied cases of upgrades to two widely-used packaged software products (SAP and Windows) in a multi-billion dollar division of a Fortune 500 company. From an analysis of the cases, the authors induced a theoretical model explaining the influences affecting the decisions to upgrade. The authors’ model suggests that upgrade decisions are the outcome of interaction between motivating forces that can originate from internal and external environments, and contingency forces. Business need was found to be one of the key internal requirements, along with organizational risk mitigation policies. Organizational reliance on packaged software also creates dependence on vendors that gives them influence over the organization's upgrade decision. The decision to upgrade is also contingent on the availability of internal resources. Although scarcity of internal resources can postpone an upgrade when the need to upgrade is deferrable, organizations will prioritize internal resources when the upgrade is deemed necessary
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