ERP implementation in the private hospitals of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This paper aims at analyzing the current status of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation in private hospitals of Saudi Arabia in terms of performance outcomes and challenges of implementation. It also sheds light on relevant issues of interest and identifies pathways for future research. A questionnaire was employed for these purposes. The results indicate that 83% of hospitals have implemented or are currently implementing the ERP system, with a 77% level of success in realizing the literature-reported outcomes and benefits. It takes around 14 months in average to implement ERP, with a relatively low possibility of a major delay (13%). The most frequently selected critical success factor was top management commitment and support. Change management seems to limitedly contribute to the success of ERP in hospitals, which disconfirms results of previous studies. Another area of concern is user training, which was relatively undermined although verbal feedbacks reveal often repeated mistakes and failure issues among users. Other results via bivariate analysis and future research possibilities are presented.

Keywords:

• Enterprise resource planning
• Saudi Arabia
• Service sector
• Healthcare
• Hospital information systems