Effective ERP adoption processes: the role of project activators and resource investments

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate whether stakeholders activating a project shape team building, the structure and magnitude of resource investment levels, and to what extent these levels impact ERP project effectiveness. The process view of an ERP project includes project initiation, system justification and funding, implementation, and early system use. Results from a nationwide empirical survey conducted in Austria (N=88) show that activating actors influence team formation and resource investments, which impact project effectiveness levels. Resource-intensive justification and funding phases tend to precede resource-intensive implementations in heavy-weight projects, which seem to be less effective than light-weight projects. Resource and change conflicts are associated with lower project effectiveness and are more common in resource-intensive ERP projects, where early system use appears to be relatively less stable.

Keywords:

• ERP stages
• IT costs
• IT value
• adoption decision
• team formation
• empirical survey

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Edward W N Bernroider

About the authors

Edward W.N. Bernroider is a University Professor in Information Management and Control at the Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria. His research focuses on Accounting Information Systems, and IT Governance, Risk and Compliance. He has engaged in a variety of educational programs, international consultancies, and advisory activities for commercial and nonprofit enterprises, and made numerous presentations at national and international conferences. His publications have appeared in journals such as Decision Support Systems, Information and Management, European Journal of Information Systems, European Journal of Operational Research, Computers and OR, and the Business Process Management Journal. He currently serves on the editorial board of three major IS journals and is a regular member of academic and professional bodies in the field of IS.