An End-User Taxonomy of Enterprise Systems Flexibility: Evidence from a Leading European Apparel Manufacturer

Abstract

Through this research the authors identify the major dimensions of enterprise systems flexibility from the perspective of various end users. To explore the concept of enterprise systems flexibility, on-site interviews were conducted with 20 members of a leading European clothing manufacturer, ranging from functional employees to the CEO. Results of analyzing the data using content analysis highlight that end users view Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) flexibility in terms of five major dimensions, specifically system connectivity, process integration, hierarchical integration, user-customizability, and consistency.

Keywords:

• enterprise systems
• information systems flexibility
• case study

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank Holly MacLennan and Bjorn Seelhorst for their assistance with this manuscript. We are also very grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggested revisions.