The IT implementation literature suggests that various implementation factors play critical roles in the success of an information system; however, there is little empirical research about the implementation of data warehousing projects. Data warehousing has unique characteristics that may impact the importance of factors that apply to it. In this study, a cross-sectional survey investigated a model of data warehousing success. Data warehousing managers and data suppliers from 111 organizations completed paired mail questionnaires on implementation factors and the success of the warehouse. The results from a Partial Least Squares analysis of the data identified significant relationships between the system quality and data quality factors and perceived net benefits. It was found that management support and resources help to address organizational issues that arise during warehouse implementations; resources, user participation, and highly-skilled project team members increase the likelihood that warehousing projects will finish on-time, on-budget, with the right functionality; and diverse, unstandardized source systems and poor development technology will increase the technical issues that project teams must overcome. The implementation's success with organizational and project issues, in turn, influence the system quality of the data warehouse; however, data quality is best explained by factors not included in the research model.

An empirical investigation of the factors affecting data warehousing success

The case study approach allows in-depth, multi-faceted explorations of complex issues in their real-life settings. The value of the case study approach is well recognised in the fields of business, law and policy, but somewhat less so in health services research. Based on our experiences of conducting several health-related case studies, we reflect on the different types of case study design, the specific research questions this approach can help answer, the data sources that tend to be used, and the particular advantages and disadvantages of employing this methodological approach. The paper concludes with key pointers to aid those designing and appraising proposals for conducting case study research, and a checklist to help readers assess the quality of case study reports.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2F1471-2288-11-100.pdf

The case study approach

This paper reports on a comparative case study of 13 industrial firms that implemented an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. It compares firms based on their dialectic learning process. All firms had to overcome knowledge barriers of two types: those associated with the configuration of the ERP package, and those associated with the assimilation of new work processes. We found that both strong core teams and carefully managed consulting relationships addressed configuration knowledge barriers. User training that included both technical and business processes, along with a phased implementation approach, helped firms to overcome assimilation knowledge barriers. However, all firms in this study experienced ongoing concerns with assimilation knowledge barriers, and we observed two different approaches to address them. In a piecemeal approach, firms concentrated on the technology first and deferred consideration of process changes. In a concerted approach, both the technology and process changes were undertaken together. Although most respondents clearly stated a preference for either piecemeal or concerted change, all firms engaged in practices that reflected a combination of these approaches.

Learning to Implement Enterprise Systems: An Exploratory Study of the Dialectics of Change

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system solutions are currently in high demand by both manufacturing and service organisations because they provide a tightly integrated solution to an organisation's information system needs. During the last decade, ERP systems have received a significant amount of attention from researchers and practitioners from a variety of functional disciplines. In this paper, a comprehensive review of the research literature (1990‐2003) concerning ERP systems is presented. The literature is further classified and the major outcomes of each study are addressed and analysed. Following a comprehensive review of the literature, proposals for future research are formulated to identify topics where fruitful opportunities exist.

Enterprise resource planning: An integrative review

Though enterprise resource planning (ERP) has gained some prominence in the information systems (IS) literature over the past few years and is a significant phenomenon in practice, through (a) historical analysis, (b) meta-analysis of representative IS literature, and (c) a survey of academic experts, we reveal dissenting views on the phenomenon. Given this diversity of perspectives, it is unlikely that at this stage a broadly agreed definition of ERP can be achieved. We thus seek to increase awareness of the issues and stimulate further discussion, with the ultimate aim being to: (1) aid communication amongst researchers and between researchers and practitioners; (2) inform development of teaching materials on ERP and related concepts in university curricula and in commercial education and training; and (3) aid communication amongst clients, consultants and vendors. Increased transparency of the ERP-concept within IS may also benefit other aligned fields of knowledge.

What is ERP

Problems with the implementation of ERP systems are well documented. Although companies spend millions on ERP packages and the implementation process, there is extensive evidence that they experien...

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1080%2F02683960010009051.pdf

A model of ERP project implementation

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are integrated, enterprise-wide systems that provide automated support for standard business processes within organisations. They have been adopted by organisations throughout the world with varying degrees of success. Implementing ERP systems is a complex, lengthy and expensive process. In this paper we synthesise an ERP systems implementation process model and a set of critical success factors for ERP systems implementation. Two case studies of ERP systems implementation, one in Australia and one in China are reported. The case studies identify which critical success factors are important in which process model phases. Case study analysis then explains the differences between the Australian and Chinese cases using national cultural characteristics. Outcomes of the research are important for multinational organisations implementing ERP systems and for consulting companies assisting with ERP systems implementation in different countries.

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Differences in Critical Success Factors in ERP Systems Implementation in Australia and China: A Cultural Analysis

The identification of factors which are necessary for successful implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is of great importance to many organizations. ERP systems have to be configured and implemented, often by a team of business analysts and consultants over a period of months or years. The process is lengthy and expensive, and may include extensive business process re-engineering. Given that the investment in these systems, including both the package and associated implementation costs, is measured in millions of dollars, failure to meet deadlines and budgets may result in substantial company loss. However, the literature on the ERP implementation process, and the factors which either facilitate or impede its progress, is not extensive. This research reports the first stage of a research program which seeks to understand successful implementation of ERP systems. The objective, of the first phase was to identify what factors are necessary for successful ERP implementation, where success is understood as adherence to time and budgetary constraints. To accomplish this objective the authors studied 42 implementation projects by interviewing 10 senior members of multiple’ ERP implementation teams. Based on these interviews, 10 candidate necessary factors for successful implementation of ERP systems are identified. Of these 10, three are of paramount importance. They are management support of the project team and of the implementation process, a project team which has the appropriate balance of business and technical skills, and commitment to the change by all stakeholders. The next phase of the research will involve in-depth case studies to explore the relationship between these factors and broader contextual and process issues.

/pdf/identification-of-necessary-factors-for-successful-2yyqa3i42x.pdf

Identification of Necessary Factors for Successful Implementation of ERP Systems

Positivist, single case study is an important research approach within the information systems discipline. This paper provides detailed definitions of key concepts in positivist, single case study research and carefully analyses the conduct and outcomes of the Sarker and Lee study that examined the role of social enablers in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems implementation, and was presented at the International Conference on Information Systems in 2000. A number of key issues about positivist, single case studies are identified, including the need for a clear and deep understanding of key concepts including theory, proposition, hypothesis and hypothesis testing; the need for clearly defined concepts in theories being tested; the need for hypotheses not propositions when undertaking empirical research; the importance of explicit boundaries for theories; the distinction between single case studies and single experiments; and the problem of easy refutation of strong hypotheses using specific and unique cases. Despite these issues, positivist, single studies provide a sound and systematic approach for conducting research and are an important component of pluralist research programs within information systems.

Positivist, single case study research in information systems: a critical analysis

Introduction Implementation of ERP systems is widely recognized (Parr, Shanks, and Darke, 1999; Ambrosio, 1997; Fine, 1995; Gartner Group, 1998; Horwitt, 1998; Stedman, 1998a, 1998b; Martin, 1998; Piszczalski, 1997; Tebbe, 1997) as both problematic, and likely to overrun time and budget allocations for the actual implementation project. Of course IT projects do have a history of having such problems but ERP implementations are more intractable than most. Martin (1998) reported that over 90% of ERP implementations were late and/or over budget; some have terminated in expensive legal actions (James, 1997; Shanks et al., 2000); and the popular literature ( Infoweek, Computerworld , etc.) contains numerous stories which describe ERP implementations in colourful terms, such as ‘endurance’ tests, ‘fiascos’, ‘living to tell about it’, and ‘war stories’ (see, for example, Tebbe, 1997; Horwitt, 1998). In response to these problems, the academic literature has taken a two-pronged approach. First, it has focused on CSFs (Parr, Shanks, and Darke, 1999; Holland, Light, and Gibson, 1999; Sumner, 2000; Shanks et al., 2000; Parr and Shanks, 2000b) for implementation of ERP systems. Secondly, it has developed process models of successful implementation (Bancroft, 1996; Bancroft, Seip, and Sprengel, 1998; Markus and Tanis, 2000; Holland, Light, and Gibson, 1999; Parr, Shanks, and Darke, 1999; Ross, 1998). Both approaches aim to achieve more successful implementation and deeper insight into the process.

Anne N. Parr

Papers

A model of ERP project implementation

Differences in Critical Success Factors in ERP Systems Implementation in Australia and China: A Cultural Analysis

Identification of Necessary Factors for Successful Implementation of ERP Systems

Positivist, single case study research in information systems: a critical analysis

Critical success factors revisited: a model for ERP project implementation