Implementing packaged enterprise software in multi-site firms: intensification of organizing and learning

Abstract

Packaged enterprise software, in contrast with custom-built software, is a ready-made mass product aimed at generic customer groups in a variety of industries and geographical areas. The implementation of packaged software usually leads to a phase of appropriation and customization. As the associated processes remain ill understood, particularly for multi-site implementations, the objective of this paper is to understand the impact of packaged software in a multi-site organization. Adopting a case study method, this paper reports on a multi-site project that was analyzed at the group, site, and corporate level. Our findings suggest that as organizational units face the unsettling experience of having to implement a single source code across globally distributed sites, packaged software intensifies organizing and learning processes across these levels. The paper identifies specific processes for these levels and concludes with implications for research and practice. Our research extends IS research on packaged software implementation with an emphasis on multi-site firms.

Keywords:

• packaged software
• organizing
• learning
• multi-site firms
• global projects

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (in particular Christina Soh and K. Pelly Periasamy), Erasmus Research Institute of Management, and Netherlands Defence Academy.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paul C van Fenema

About the authors

Paul C. van Fenema is an Associate Professor at Netherlands Defence Academy, The Netherlands. He holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems and Management from RSM Erasmus University, and held positions at this school and Florida International University. His research focuses on coordination, value, and knowledge management in global IS projects and High Reliability Organizations. His work has been widely published in books and journals.

Otto R Koppius

Otto Koppius is an Assistant Professor of Decision and Information Sciences at RSM Erasmus University, where he also received his Ph.D. His main research interests revolve around the dynamics of social networks, the role of IT in enabling intra- and interorganizational coordination, electronic auctions, and predictive modeling.

Peter J van Baalen

Peter van Baalen is an Associate Professor of Knowledge Management and e-Learning at the Department of Decision and Information Sciences, and director of the Centre of e-Learning and Knowledge Management (CELK) of RSM Erasmus University. He lectures in the fields of knowledge management, e-organizations, new media and communication in business, and open innovation in the knowledge society. His recent research focuses on knowledge exchange, IT-adoption, open source software development, the emergence of e-communities, and the evolution of formal knowledge networks. Peter J. van Baalen published seven books and about 75 articles in national and international journals, chapters in books, research papers/reports.