Essay About Seidman School Of Business And Comparative Case Study

Critical Factors for Successful Erp Implementation
Essay title: Critical Factors for Successful Erp Implementation
Critical factors for successful ERP implementation:
Exploratory findings from four case studies
Jaideep Motwani a,*, Ram Subramanian a, Pradeep Gopalakrishna b
a Seidman School of Business, Grand Valley State University, Department of Management,
401 West Fulton, Grand Rapids, MI 49504, USA
b Department of Marketing and International Business, Lubin School of Business, Pace University, New York, NY 10038, USA
Received 29 March 2004; received in revised form 14 December 2004; accepted 13 February 2005
Available online 21 July 2005
Abstract
As more and more organizations move from functional to process-based IT infrastructure, ERP systems are becoming one of
today’s most widespread IT solutions. However, not all firms have been successful in their ERP implementations. Using a case
study methodology grounded in business process change theory, this research tries to understand the factors that lead to the
success or failure of ERP projects. The results from our comparative case study of 4 firms that implemented an ERP system
suggest that a cautious, evolutionary, bureaucratic implementation process backed with careful change management, network
relationships, and cultural readiness have a positive impact on several ERP implementations. Understanding such effects will
enable managers to be more proactive and better prepared for ERP implementation. Managerial implications of the findings and
future research directions are discussed.
# 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Case studies; Critical factors; ERP; Implementation
1. Introduction
The myriad challenges faced today by global
businesses