Analysis of ERP implementation to develop a strategy for its success in developing countries

Abstract

Research studies provide evidence of large number of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects implementation failures. Even then organizations are shifting their strategic focus on ERP to gain various tangible benefits. The key objective of this research study is to develop a strategy based on empirical evidences to overcome the issues of ERP implementations failure for developing countries like Pakistan. The mixed method of research with sequential strategy has been used to explore and explain the realities behind success and failure of ERP implementation. In the first phase of the research, qualitative data has been gathered through extensive literature review and interviews. NVivo 10 software has been used to explore the critical success factors of ERP implementation. In the 2nd phase of the research, surveys have conducted. SPSS 20 tool has been used for applying exploratory factor analysis and then Partial Least Square based Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with Smart PLS 3 has been used to know the existence and strength of relationship between dependent and independent variables identified in the study. It has been found that Commitment by the Top Management, Project-Management, Change Management, Business Process Re-Engineering have strong relationship with the successful implementation of ERP, whereas Training-education and Vendor management have been found to be less significant for the ERP implementation success. This study has provided a great contribution for the recipient client organizations, ERP implementers, ERP vendors and Consultants intending to join the implementation cluster. The implementation strategy was validated through a case study in public sector organization which gave encouraging results.

Keywords:

• Critical factor
• developing countries
• ERP implementation strategy
• mixed method of research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 The following codes have been used to segregate the developed countries from the developing countries as follows:

• #- represents the under developing countries in both text and references

• *- represents the most relevant and useful references

• #*- represents both under developed and most relevant references

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Muhammad Omar Malik

Muhammad Omar Malik is serving in Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited as a Senior Manager – Quality Management Systems in Governance & QA Department. He possesses more than 16 years of experience in Project Management, Quality Management, ERP systems implementations in Pakistan and abroad. Also, he is a visiting faculty member at a number of prestigious institutions such as Sir Syed CASE University, University of Lahore, Quaid-i-Azam University and International Islamic University. He received his master degrees in Computer Sciences and Physics from University of the Punjab. He holds MS and PhD degree in Engineering Management from University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, Pakistan. His research area of interest pertains to ERP systems implementations, Project Management and Quality Management. He received various international certifications in SAP-HCM, Oracle, Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt, TOGAF, Certified Quality Assurance Professional and Certified Quality Assurance Lead Auditor.

Nawar Khan

Nawar Khan is a professional Mechanical Engineer with 37 years of working experience at varied appointment and institutions. He has served for more than 22 years at NUST College of E&ME on academics and research assignments. For the last 3.5 years, he is serving at as senior consultant/professor in Faculty of Management Sciences (FMS) at Riphah International University Islamabad. He graduated from the UET Peshawar in 1981 and later did his MSc in Mechanical Engineering (Specialized in Production Engineering) from the UET Lahore in 1995. Dr Nawar Khan completed his PhD in Engineering Management under split PhD program of MoST from the UET Lahore and De Montfort University, Leicestershire UK in August 1999. His field of specialization is Total Quality Management (TQM), particularly the ‘TQM Awards’. He is a Certified Quality Assurance Lead Auditor for different ISO system standards and conducted more than 100 audits as technical expert and auditor. He is author of a reviewed textbook on TQM for master level students published by NUST which was declared the best book of the year 2010 by PIQC Pakistan. He has published more than 110 research papers at national and international level both in journals and conferences.