Impact of an Enterprise System Implementation on Job Outcomes: Challenging the Linearity Assumption

ABSTRACT

Organizations usually have difficulty adjusting to technology-enabled changes. Recent research has examined the interaction between technology and the key job outcomes of employees. But this research stream has done so using a linear lens even though this interplay has been recognized to be dynamic and complex. We challenge here this linearity assumption. We theorized that enterprise system (ES) use influences post-implementation job scope, and the change from pre- to post-implementation job scope perceptions will have a complex effect on job outcomes that are best captured by a polynomial model. Drawing on the anchoring-and-adjustment perspective in decision-making research, our polynomial model highlights the dynamic nature of employee reactions to changes in job scope brought about by an ES implementation that cannot be captured by traditional linear models. We found support for our model using data collected in a longitudinal field study from 2,794 employees at a telecommunications firm over a period of 12 months. Our findings highlight the key role an ES implementation can have in changing the nature of jobs and how those changes can, in turn, drive job performance and job satisfaction. This research also extends classical job characteristics research by arguing for a more complex relationship between the scope and outcomes of technology-supported jobs.

KEYWORDS:

• Job outcomes
• enterprise systems
• system post-implementation
• longitudinal filed study
• job performance
• job satisfaction
• technology-supported jobs

Supplementary information

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Viswanath Venkatesh

Viswanath Venkatesh ([email protected]), who completed his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, is an Eminent Scholar and Verizon Chair at the Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech. His research focuses on understanding the diffusion of technologies in organizations and society. His works are highly influential, having been cited over 132,000 times according to Google Scholar and about 40,000 times according to Web of Science, with an h-index of 78 and i-10 index of 128. Dr. Venkatesh developed and maintains an IS research rankings web site that has received many accolades from the academic community including Association for Information Systems’ Technology Legacy Award. He has served in editorial roles in various journals. He is a Fellow of the AIS and the Information Systems Society (INFORMS).

Sandeep Goyal

Sandeep Goyal ([email protected]) is an Associate Professor in the Information Systems Analytics and Operations Department in the College of Business at the University of Louisville. His main research interests are in business analytics, intelligent decision support systems, and the role of technological innovations in supply chain management. His research has been published in top Information Systems journals, such as. Information Systems Research, Journal of Management Information Systems, and MIS Quarterly, as well as operations journals, such as Production and Operations Management. Dr. Goyal has worked on consulting projects with several Fortune-500 companies, government institutions, and non-profits. He is the director of the Professional MBA and the full-time MBA programs in the College of Business at the University of Louisville.