A hermeneutic analysis of critical success factors for Enterprise Systems implementation by SMEs

ABSTRACT

This study employs the critical hermeneutic approach to identifying current knowledge limitations and propose future research directions. Through five hermeneutic cycles of review, analysis, synthesis and interpretation of the existing literature and success stories reported by 30 small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), this study identifies critical success factors (CSFs) that are unique to SMEs, frequently cited in the literature, and influential as perceived by SMEs. The study offers contributions by providing a synthesis of CSFs for SMEs; highlighting current knowledge gaps; proposing avenues for future research; and demonstrating the suitability of the critical hermeneutic approach to studying CSFs for ES implementation.     

Critical success factors of the nine challenges in Malaysia’s vision 2020

By the year 2020, Malaysia aspires to become a fully developed nation. In order to realize this vision, formally termed ‘Vision 2020’, Malaysia must address nine strategic challenges identified by the government of former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad. These challenges are: (1) Establishing a united Malaysian nation, (2) Creating a psychologically liberated, secure, and developed Malaysian society, (3) Developing a mature democratic society, (4) Forming a community that has high morale, ethics, and religious strength, (5) Establishing a mature, liberal and tolerant society, (6) Establishing a scientific and progressive society, (7) Establishing a fully caring society, (8) Ensuring an economically just society, and (9) Establishing a prosperous society. The present paper seeks to identify and rank the critical success factors of these nine challenges by applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process. A number of ‘front-line’ critical success factors are discussed at length. The paper also analyzes the impact of respondents’ demography on the outcomes. The findings are expected to provide valuable guidelines to the Malaysian government in course of developing effective action plans to achieve Vision 2020.     

Success criteria and factors for international development projects: A life‐cycle‐based framework

The paper presents a new conceptual model for not‐for‐profit international development projects that identifies different sets of success criteria and factors in the project life‐cycle phases and then provides the dynamic linkages among these criteria and factors. The model can serve as a basis to evaluate the project status and to forecast the results progressively throughout the stages. Thus, it helps the project management team and the key stakeholders prioritize their attention and scarce development resources to ensure successful project completion. Empirical data from a field survey conducted in selected Southeast Asian countries confirm the model's validity and also illustrate important managerial implications.     

ERP systems success: an empirical analysis of how two organizational stakeholder groups prioritize and evaluate relevant measures

Organizations worldwide are adopting enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. A number of studies discuss the implementation and success of such systems, but our study of the literature indicates that discussions about ERP systems success from the perspectives of key organizational stakeholders are not easy to come across. This study is designed to fill this gap in research. Using surveys in Finland and Estonia, we obtained empirical data from 66 respondents in 44 diverse, private, industrial organizations. Our objective was to determine whether differences exist between two organizational stakeholder groups, i.e. business managers and IT professionals, concerning how each group believe ERP success measures and dimensions are prioritized and evaluated in their respective organizations. Prior literature suggests that differences exist between the two groups with regard to how each perceives organizational information technology (IT) issues. Our study indicates that no significant statistical differences exist between the two groups with the exception of one dimension of ERP success, i.e. vendor/consultant quality. The implications of our findings for both practice and research are discussed.     

An empirical identification and categorisation of training best practices for ERP implementation projects

Although training is one of the most cited critical success factors in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems implementations, few empirical studies have attempted to examine the characteristics of management of the training process within ERP implementation projects. Based on the data gathered from a sample of 158 respondents across four stakeholder groups involved in ERP implementation projects, and using a mixed method design, we have assembled a derived set of training best practices. Results suggest that the categorised list of ERP training best practices can be used to better understand training activities in ERP implementation projects. Furthermore, the results reveal that the company size and location have an impact on the relevance of training best practices. This empirical study also highlights the need to investigate the role of informal workplace trainers in ERP training activities.     

Social identity and signalling success factors in online crowdfunding

Online crowdfunding means relying on the Internet to seek financial support from the general public. In this paper, we examine success factors in the social capital networks of the top 5000 most funded projects in Kickstarter.com at the time of this study. We first look at how fundraisers and backers identify themselves with the projects they support in their own social networks. This is modelled using Facebook friends and Facebook shares, respectively, guided by social identity theory. Secondly, we use signalling theory to investigate crowdfunding success based on backers’ and fundraisers’ ability to engage in a forum, modelled using the number of comments between them, or with unilateral signals using the number of updates from the fundraiser. This study suggests that funders and backers who identify themselves with the projects in their own social networks are associated with greater pledge/backer ratio. We also find that projects where the fundraiser and its backers exchange more signals in a joint forum, but not signals delivered unilaterally by the fundraiser, have a greater pledge/backer ratio. These findings, based on a scalable quantitative study, highlight the importance of a multi-theory approach, advance social identity theory and signalling theory in the context of crowdfunding, and could be applied to online and normal entrepreneurship environments alike.     

Evaluating the success in international sourcing of information technology projects: The need for a relational client‐vendor approach

This article investigates the differences across and the need to consider both the client and vendor perspective in evaluating international sourcing (offshoring) success and highlights the need for incorporating relational factors into the success assessment rather than focusing solely on financial or operational outcomes (e.g., projects delivered on time, within budgeted costs). We take an expanded view of project success (using relational/process dimensions) and provide insight into how client and vendor firms evaluate success differently across relational dimensions and how relational factors play a key role in achieving success. Based on the findings, propositions are presented to guide future offshoring success research.     

DB项目成功因素的研究综述与展望

文章对以往项目成功因素的研究做了一个综述,并在此基础之上针对DB承包模式下的建设项目成功因素做出了进一步研究,并从新的角度提出了一个新的研究思路,期望能够从充分考虑到的各种因素之中找到那些影响DB项目成功的关键因素,并揭示出他们与各种项目绩效之间的相关性。     

Identifying critical success factors for the agri-food cold chain's sustainable development: When the strategy system comes into play

With serious environmental, cost, and social concerns arising from emerging countries' rapid growth in agricultural food cold chain (AFCC), AFCC firms urgently require a set of comprehensive sustainable strategic solutions. Therefore, this research identified and modeled the critical success factors (CSFs) that support the sustainable development of AFCCs. The study integrated institutional theory, stakeholder theory, and the triple bottom line model; it also surveyed cold chain experts from 16 different organizations in China and applied the adversarial interpretation structure model (AISM). This comprehensive analysis indicates that managing stakeholder pressure is the most motivating CSF of all strategies. This strategy eventually contributes to the sustainability of AFCC in China by driving other CSFs. Additionally, the study determined the degree of interdependence and dominance of different strategies. Thus, this study establishes a theoretical foundation for the sustainable improvement of AFCC organizations' business strategies and environmental policies.     

CRM系统实施的关键成功因素

文章针对我国CRM系统实施成功率较低的现状,结合自己的实际工作体会,从企业客户与企业本身两个角度提出了CRM系统实施应当注意的一些问题,分析和探讨了“客户成熟度”及“企业成熟度”对CRM系统成功实施的影响。     

Contextual factors affecting the integration of enterprise systems in post-merger oil and gas companies

This study examines the contextual factors of the external business environment, organization, information systems, and enterprise system software as they affect integration of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems after a merger or acquisition in the oil and gas industry. A multiple case study method using primary and secondary data revealed: ERPs are operational necessities rather than strategic differentiators; best practice adoption is a viable alternative that supports successful integration of cultures and knowledge from two experienced organizations; schedules are extended when best practices from both companies are consolidated into a single instance; consolidation facilitates Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and lowers the cost of ownership; imposing acquirer systems on targets facilitates timely decision-making and shorter schedules.     

Sustainable manufacturing and green human resources: Critical success factors in the automotive sector

This study aims to identify critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing sustainability in organizational human resources management (OHRM) within the automotive sector (AS). A literature review was carried out to identify the OHRM factors that are instrumental for the significant adoption of sustainable practices (SP) in the sector. Based on the outcomes from the literature review, an expert team composed of 17 experts from the AS, academia, and consultancy firms were consulted in order to identify cause–effect relationships among CSFs using a multi-criteria decision making tool. Data were gathered in India from November 2019 to April 2020. The results revealed that top management support and environmental auditing for suppliers are the two most important CSFs to be prioritized among the factors studied, which implies that by managing these factors first, automotive manufacturers may deal better with the adoption of SP. As a result of prioritizing these two factors, other CSFs related to OHRM (e.g., organizational culture, environmental training, rewards, and incentives) will also positively affect the adoption of SP. The novelty of this study comes through raising the importance of environmental auditing for suppliers as a factor that can facilitate not only the adoption of SP in the AS, but the other OHRM factors as well.     

An empirical assessment of IT project selection and evaluation methods in state government

This study uses a survey of U.S. state government information technology (IT) project management practitioners to investigate the utilization of IT project selection and evaluation methodologies—financial and qualitative—and to assess the empirical relationship between the chosen methods and several measures of perceived project success. The analysis presents evidence that financial project selection and evaluation methodologies appear to be important in obtaining better control over project costs.     

Impact of organizational and project factors on acceptance and usage of project management software and perceived project success

This study surveyed 497 participants to determine the factors that affect project professionals' acceptance of project management software and the perceived impact of software usage on their performance. The study finds that greater information quality and higher project complexity are the dominant factors explaining higher levels of system utilization, that greater system functionality and ease of use have a significant positive relationship with increased software usage, and that a strong positive relationship exists between higher usage of project management software and perceived project managers' improved performance. Inconsistent with prior research, more training was not found to be associated with project management software usage. The study explains more than 40% of the variation in project management software acceptance and adds project management software usage to project success factors by empirically confirming for the first time that project management software enhances project professionals' perceived performance and provides a positive impact on the results of their projects. The study provides practical implications for project professionals, their organizations, senior management, decision makers, software developers, and vendors. These findings support the call for further research that investigates the diffusion of information technologies in the project management field and their impact on project success and competitive position.     

Business process re-engineering in the logistics industry: a study of implementation,success factors,and performance

As business process re-engineering (BPR) is an important foundation to ensure the success of enterprise systems, this study would like to investigate the relationships among BPR implementation, BPR success factors, and business performance for logistics companies. Our empirical findings show that BPR companies outperformed non-BPR companies, not only on information processing, technology applications, organisational structure, and co-ordination, but also on all of the major logistics operations. Comparing the different perceptions of the success factors for BPR, non-BPR companies place greater emphasis on the importance of employee involvement while BPR companies are more concerned about the influence of risk management. Our findings also suggest that management attitude towards BPR success factors could affect performance with regard to technology applications and logistics operations. Logistics companies which have not yet implemented the BPR approach could refer to our findings to evaluate the advantages of such an undertaking and to take care of those BPR success factors affecting performance before conducting BPR projects.     

The interoperability force in the ERP field

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems participate in interoperability projects and this participation sometimes leads to new proposals for the ERP field. The aim of this paper is to identify the role that interoperability plays in the evolution of ERP systems. To go about this, ERP systems have been first identified within interoperability frameworks. Second, the initiatives in the ERP field driven by interoperability requirements have been identified from two perspectives: technological and business. The ERP field is evolving from classical ERP as information system integrators to a new generation of fully interoperable ERP. Interoperability is changing the way of running business, and ERP systems are changing to adapt to the current stream of interoperability.     

Translation and convergence in projects: An organizational perspective on project success

A range of theories (actor‐network theory, multinodality, and sense making) are drawn together into a single model of project management processes in order to discuss project success and failure. It is argued that success and failure can be characterized in terms of a continuum between project convergence and divergence. The causes of divergence and convergence are discussed with reference to the above theories using four illustrative case studies.     

实施客户关系管理的阻力与成功因素

文章通过对客户关系管理(CustomerRelationshipManagement,CRM)内涵的阐述,介绍了企业实施客户关系管理的难点和阻力,并指出了实施客户关系管理的成功因素。     

Toward a theory of managing context in Six Sigma process-improvement projects: An action research investigation

In this paper, field studies, extant literature, and domain knowledge are used to develop a theory of managing context in Six Sigma process-improvement projects. By means of a participatory action research investigation involving ten projects in manufacturing and service firms, this paper examines the interrelationship among project context, elements, and success. Rich text-based information for each project was analyzed for the underlying patterns and relationships using the NVIVO 8 qualitative data analysis software package. The insights gained from this in-depth field investigation are presented in the form of 12 inductively derived research propositions that, when taken together, uniquely contribute to context-based theory-building in this area.     

The impact of e-marketing orientation on performance in Asian SMEs: a B2B perspective

ABSTRACT

Business-to-business (B2B) organisations are increasingly utilising electronic devices in their business operations in order to succeed in increasingly competitive markets. This trend is prevalent in the growing Asian markets, especially in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector. While prior research has focused on this issue in the context of large business-to-customer (B2C) organisations in Asia, there have hardly been any studies that have shed light on the B2B sector in the SME setting. This study aims to critically explore B2B e-marketing critical success factors (B2B-eM-CSFs) for SMEs operating in the Asian B2B marketplace. A key finding is the development of a theoretical framework for SMEs, emerging from the analysis of 406 companies from various industrial sectors. The study shows that interaction with the B2B-eM-CSFs is an important dimension and has a positive and significant impact on e-business efficiency and marketing improvements for Asian SMEs.