Understanding ERP system implementation in a hospital by analysing stakeholders

Implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems requires significant organisational, as well as technical, changes. These will affect stakeholders with varying perspectives and interests in the system. This is particularly the case in health care, as a feature of this sector is that responsibility of services is shared between many autonomous units. In these and similar settings, it is essential to analyse stakeholders and to understand their expectations and attitudes towards the system. Such an understanding will help implementers to address stakeholder interests and to encourage acceptance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretically based model to analyse how stakeholder attitudes and behaviours in a hospital setting affect the outcome of ERP implementation. This model is applied in an empirical study of a project to introduce an ERP system in medium‐sized hospital in The Netherlands. The study shows how the ERP implementation impacts the interests of stakeholders such as physicians and administrators, which caused tensions. The paper examines the reasons of these tensions. In doing so, it contributes to our understanding of ERP implementation in health care and any other similar sectors from a stakeholder perspective, and it may help implementers to manage this more effectively.     

ERPs as 'technologies-in-practice': social construction, materiality and the role of organisational factors

Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs) often fail to deliver the organisational benefits anticipated. This paper uses Orlikowski's 'technology-in-practice' framework to analyse the impact of an ERP on branch managers in a large bank. While this framework provides important insights into the impact of ERPs, the case also highlights the significance of organisational factors in shaping how users enact technology at work.     

Differential effects of ERP systems on user outcomes—a longitudinal investigation

Adopting a model of job enrichment we report on a longitudinal case investigating the perceived impact of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system on user job design characteristics. Our results indicated that in the context of an ERP geared towards centralisation and standardisation the extent to which users perceived an increase or decrease in job enrichment was associated with aspects such as formal authority and the nature of their work role. Experienced operational employees proficient in the original legacy system perceived ERP system protocols to constrain their actions, limit training and increase dependence on others in the workflow. Conversely, managerial users reported a number of benefits relating to report availability, improved organisational transparency and increased overall job enrichment. These results supported our argument concerning the relationship between ERPs with a standardisation intent and positive job enrichment outcomes for managerial users and negative job‐related outcomes for operational users.     

The complex relationship between inventory control and organisational setting: Theory and practice

Within companies it is widely recognised nowadays that the performance of inventory systems is not only determined by the way the inventory system is planned and controlled but also by its organisational architecture. Notwithstanding its importance, the field of production and operations management still lacks however, a comprehensive body of knowledge integrating both control and organisational aspects of inventory systems. One of the reasons for this shortcoming seems to be a lack of understanding of how inventory planning interacts with its organisational embedding in practice. In this article, this interdependence is further explored. Firstly, a conceptual framework is presented. The framework has been the starting point for five case studies performed during the last years. In this article data gathered over a period of more than fifteen years concerning one company is further explored. One of the main conclusions derived from this longitudinal case study is that organisations often try to neutralise shortcomings in the inventory planning and control system by applying organisational measures. In addition to this positive congruence, negative forms of congruence were also found. Shortcomings in the inventory control system are then negatively re-enforced by its organisational setting. The findings of the case study also suggest that companies often do not apply a clear and well-defined policy regarding the organisational setting of advanced inventory planning and control systems. We end this article by arguing that objectified notions on (re)designing inventory planning and control and its organisational design often under-emphasise irrational behaviour of the parties involved. A further elaboration of the framework presented in this article integrating operations management concepts and organisational theory therefore seems to be worthwhile.     

A framework of ERP systems implementation success in China: An empirical study

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is one of the most widely accepted choices to obtain competitive advantage for manufacturing companies. However, the successful implementation rate is low and many firms did not achieve intended goals in China. This study develops an ERP implementation success framework by adapting the Ives et al. information systems (ISs) research model and DeLone and McLean's IS success model to identify both critical success factors and success measures. Qualitative case study research methodology is used to collect data and Atlas/ti program is used to facilitate data analysis. Discussion is made finally and suggested ERP systems implementation methodology is given at the end.     

The demand for training and consultancy investment in SME-specific ERP systems implementation and operation

This research examines the demand for the level of investment in training and consultancy necessary to successfully implement and operate small and medium sized enterprises (SME)-specific enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in SMEs. The extant literature on ERP, as well as established business practices adopted by the majority of ERP vendors and trainers, suggests that in order to implement and operate ERP systems effectively, a training model including an extensive training period, and often utilising external consultants, is a necessary condition. An in-depth case study has been conducted in this research on a UK-based SME-specific ERP systems vendor, which maintain that their SME-specific ERP systems can be implemented and operated effectively with only five days of formal training and no additional consultancy. This research evaluates the validity of this claim, and investigates the basis for the training model employed by the case company is, or is not, sufficient for users to successfully implement and operate SME-specific ERP systems.     

Participation: 'bounded freedom' or hidden constraints on user involvement

User participation in information systems development is often surrounded by assumptions that the resultant system will be a success, will reflect user needs, and that the process results in an empowered workforce. This paper argues that underlying these foreground rational assumptions are instrumental, politically motivated justifications driving the need to involve users.     

Redefining the Toyota Production System: the European side of the story

Trapped into the sterile opposition between the empowerment and the management by stress approaches, the debate on the Toyota Production System has failed to provide a clear understanding of the social and organisational conditions that make this system viable. By focusing on the work organisation, the market configuration and the industrial infrastructure of the European transplants of Toyota, this paper proposes an alternative approach centred on the notions of 'contextualisation' and 'human agency.'     

Suggestion systems: transferring employee creativity into practicable ideas

Nowadays many companies are aware of the importance of employee creativity. Suggestion systems are among the instruments for channelling creativity. However, companies vary strongly in the success with which they use suggestion systems. This article aims to clarify the organisational conditions for the successful use of suggestion systems. The Creativity Transformation Model encompasses the main factors that influence the functioning of suggestion systems. The model is tested within specific divisions of three companies that can be considered best practices in the use of suggestion systems. By applying the model, companies will be able to transfer employee creativity optimally into practicable ideas.     

Empirical Study of Management Consulting Success in Korea

An integration model of factors influencing the success of management consulting (MC) projects in proposed. The model posits that client organisational characteristics, competence of consultants, and consultation mode will be correlated with MC success, measured by efficiency and effectiveness of the projects. Nine hypotheses are proposed and empirically tested using data collected from the client staffs of 119 MC projects in 60 Korean firms. Analyses of the data using the multiple regression technique moderately supports the study's model. The major findings are that both client organisational characteristics (e.g., staff's commitment, and functional heterogeneity of client staffs) and consultation mode (e.g., specifics of goals, procedural standard, methodological compatibility) have a significant impact on the success of MC, particularly on its effectiveness. However, it was found that the competence of consultants is not significantly correlated with MC success. These findings are discussed and several implications are suggested.     

Teamwork for innovation – the 'troika' of promotors

The management of innovation requires 'champions' or 'promotors' who commit with enthusiasm to the new product or the new process idea. More complex innovations will require more than one promotor. Division of labour becomes an essential success factor. According to the promotor model, at least a dyad of a 'power promotor' and a 'technology promotor' is necessary to overcome the barriers of unwillingness and of ignorance. With growing complexity, additional problems of communication and process management will occur. This will demand a third team member, the 'process promotor', who is needed to overcome the barriers of non‐responsibility and non‐communication between the organisational units involved and to act as navigator of the process. In this article, we present an empirical investigation of 133 innovations in the German plant construction and engineering industry. The results strengthen the hypothesis that the level of success of an innovation depends on the existence of a 'troika' of promotors.     

Achievement assessment for enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementations based on critical success factors (CSFs)

This paper addresses a framework to critical success factor (CSF) assessment of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementation, and proposes a structured approach to help a small manufacturing enterprise (SME) identify the key requirements and measurements that determine its achievement of ERP implementation. Based on realistic data, critical success factors are converted into quantitative information to reflect measurements including cost, schedule, and goal achievement that must be addressed during implementation. One outcome of this study is that some CSFs are more important than others. Another outcome is that great emphasis should specifically be placed on CSF5, “people.” A third outcome is that a “good” balance can be reached based on schedule, cost, and achievement level such that desired achievement levels are attained at a low cost and a reasonably short implementation time (schedule) using simulation.     

Customer Empowerment in New Product Development*

The traditional new product development (NPD) model, in which companies are exclusively responsible for coming up with new product ideas and for deciding which products should ultimately be marketed, is increasingly being challenged by innovation management academics and practitioners alike. In particular, many have advocated the idea of democratizing innovation by empowering customers to take a much more active stake in corporate NPD. This has become feasible because the Internet now allows companies to build strong online communities through which they can listen to and integrate thousands of customers from all over the world. Extant research has provided strong arguments that indicate that customer empowerment in NPD enables firms to develop better products and at the same time to reduce costs and risks if customers in a given domain are willing and able to deliver valuable input. Customer empowerment, however, not only affects the firm's internal NPD processes as reflected in the products that are ultimately marketed. Instead, it might also affect the way companies are perceived in the marketplace (by customers who observe that companies foster customer empowerment in NPD). This paper provides the first empirical study to explore how customers from the “periphery” (i.e., the mass that does not participate) perceive customer empowerment strategies. Customer empowerment in NPD is conceptualized along two basic dimensions: (1) customer empowerment to create (ideas for) new product designs; and (2) customer empowerment to select the product designs to be produced. Therefore, customers may be empowered to submit (ideas for) new products (empowerment to create) or (2) to “vote” on which products should ultimately be marketed (empowerment to select). In the course of two experimental studies using three different product categories (T‐shirts, furniture, and bicycles) both customer empowerment dimensions (as well as its interaction) are found to lead to (1) increased levels of perceived customer orientation, (2) more favorable corporate attitudes, (3) and stronger behavioral intentions. These findings will be very useful to researchers and managers interested in understanding the enduring consequences of customer empowerment in NPD. Most importantly, the results suggest that empowerment strategies might be used to improve a firm's corporate associations as perceived by the broad mass of (potential) customers. In particular, marketers might foster customer empowerment as an effective means of enhancing perceived customer orientation. Customers will in turn provide rewards, as they will form more favorable corporate attitudes and will be more likely to choose the products of empowering as opposed to nonempowering companies, ceteris paribus. Customer empowerment thus constitutes a promising positioning strategy that managers can pursue to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace.     

Does the level of experience have an effect on CRM programs? Exploratory research findings

A growing body of academic and practitioner literature has highlighted the differences in definitions and approaches to customer relationship management (CRM), suggested frameworks for successful CRM implementation, and provided evidences of CRM success and failure. Such accumulating wisdom might be expected to imbue practice with knowledge of what works better in CRM and to entail, therefore, an improving experience of CRM over time. To date, however, the effect of experience on CRM implementation has not been discussed in literature. This paper studies CRM from the organisational learning perspective. It provides evidence from empirical research conducted among users (firms), consultants, and suppliers (software vendors) about the effect of experience on CRM. The exploratory research findings of this study draw attention to the extent to which firms deploying CRM are sensitive and responsive to what they might learn from their implementation efforts and establish a platform for future research. The paper suggests the need for the two processes of CRM and organisational learning to move in tandem to be mutually beneficial.     

University business models in disequilibrium – engaging industry and end users within university technology transfer processes

This article explores how greater engagement with industry and end users has influenced the University Technology Transfer Business Model. In order to achieve this, they adopted a qualitative methodology which draws upon case study evidence of two case universities located in a particular region. The findings, represented in a conceptual framework depict a hybrid University Technology Transfer Business Model which is in a state of permanent disequilibrium as a result of path dependency and organisational culture. This permanent disequilibrium was found to cause challenges in relation to scarce resource allocation and also impacted upon the willingness and ability of academics to engage with industry and end users throughout the technology transfer process. This article contributes to an emerging stream of research on hybrid business models by identifying the challenges of permanent disequilibrium where multiple and conflicting stakeholder goals compete for legitimacy and scarce resources. From a policy and practitioner viewpoint, this research draws attention to the complexities of university, government, industry and end user (Quadruple Helix stakeholders) engagement and the implications of such on university strategy where conflicting dominant logics can cause challenges with alignment of organisational processes and mechanisms.     

Effects of employees' perceived dependability on success of enterprise applications in e-business

Electronic business (e-business) plays a major role in modern economic networks due to its shorter cycle time and faster information transactions. Building enterprise applications that can coordinate activities, decisions, and knowledge across many functions is a good solution for e-business. Hence, how to implement enterprise applications successfully has become an increasingly important management issue. Although success of information systems (IS) has received fairly extensive attention from prior research, issues regarding whether functions and service delivered by systems can be justifiably relied on by users are seriously ignored, especially complex systems like enterprise applications. Thus, this paper attempts to extend this kind of concept, perceived dependability, into DeLone and McLean's IS success model to explore how it influences success of enterprise applications. Results from a survey of 170 respondents taken from six internationalized e-businesses in Taiwan strongly support that perceived dependability is indeed an important factor for success of enterprise applications. Additionally, over and beyond the effects of dependability on success of enterprise applications, it can help practitioners and managers get deep insights into how to implement e-business successfully.     

Dynamic pricing models for ERP systems under network externality

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems vendors face great challenges to enhance their market position and maximize their profits. Being able to simultaneously predict the diffusion of an ERP and to determine the right price to charge to a customer is a complex task. Earlier work has demonstrated evidence of network effect in the diffusion of ERP software in industries. In light of this evidence, we investigate in this paper the benefit of a dynamic pricing strategy for ERP systems vendors in a business network governed by a quantitative diffusion model. Based on a real scenario in the automotive industry, those quantitative models are integrated into a simulation-based optimization approach to tackle the problem. Our findings are promising and establish the foundation of a powerful decision support tool for ERP systems vendors.     

Developing customised CRM projects: The role of industry norms,organisational context and customer expectations on CRM implementation

This research paper investigates the influence of industry, organisational, and customer context on customer relationship management (CRM) projects. Organisations go through four phases in their CRM projects (assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation), yet the impact of industry norms, organisational contexts, and customer expectations on each phase are rarely examined. A longitudinal case study approach with six cases was used to investigate the potential impact of contextual factors on CRM projects. The cases covered a range of industries, organisational structures, and customer types. We found that current industry conditions and customer expectations influence the reasons for undertaking CRM and the assessment stage of the project. The organisational context has a noticeable impact on the design and implementation project stages. At the evaluation level, customer responses combined with organisational expectations affect the perceived success of the projects. By understanding the impact of context, customised CRM projects can be developed.     

Managing industrial pharmaceutical R&D. A comparative study of management control and innovative effectiveness in European and Anglo-American companies

Drug regulation and pricing have put strong pressure on the cost-benefit ratio of the innovative pharmaceutical industry. Therefore a study has been conducted in fourteen large and medium sized companies to determine some important organisational and managerial factors influencing success in pharmaceutical innovation. The study consists of structured interviews with Research Directors and questionnaires, submitted to the heads of the different research departments. The following conclusions are tentatively drawn. Firstly, the data suggest that a threshold investment of approximately $150–200 million is needed to maintain the innovative potential. Above approximately $750 million, 'economies of scale' seem to appear in pharmaceutical innovation. Secondly, an incremental strategy aimed at reducing the duration of the development process seems to be more successful than a radical strategy which lays more emphasis on discovery. Thirdly, pure play pharmaceuticals seem to be more successful than the pharmaceutical divisions of conglomerates. Management control, especially the way in which reorganisations are performed, is assessed more positively in pure play pharmaceuticals. Fourthly, the greater emphasis on human resources management in Anglo-American companies, in comparison to continental European companies, seems to be an important explanatory factor for their greater success on the pharmaceutical market.     

Information systems in fast cycle development: identifying user needs in integrated automotive component development

Product development literature strongly emphasizes the need for open communication between suppliers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). There is a widespread expectation that computer-aided communication networks will enable organizational members to work more flexibly, to share knowledge and competencies, and to span functional and company boundaries. However, few studies merge the possibilities of new information technologies and the operational needs of specific groups of users, for example product development engineers. The research reported in this paper aims to fill that gap. Through in-depth case studies of two development projects involving one auto OEM, one of its systems suppliers (working directly with the OEM) and five medium-sized expert suppliers (working either directly with the OEM or through the systems supplier), we identify three groups of user needs that are not currently satisfied by existing information system solutions: improvement of coordination and communication; enhancement of the access to new technological information; and support for the development of an organizational memory. We then explore what kind of information systems might help satisfy the above-mentioned needs. Potential barriers to efficient implementation of information systems in terms of the motivation of people using the systems, the reliability of the information, and the willingness to render information more transparent are discussed. It is concluded that when implementing information systems to support operational development work, it is essential to ground the system specification in clearly identified user needs that reflect the double nature of product engineering, namely the continuous interplay between routines and cognitive processes.