The impact of project team attributes on ERP system implementations

Abstract

Purpose The adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is a major challenge to organizations. Many implementation teams struggle to ensure the success of such projects. The information systems literature indicates that the team attributes of breadth of experience, empowerment, and cohesion are necessary conditions for project success. This paper aims to investigate how the nature of implementation teams may affect adoption success. Design/methodology/approach The research employs a positivist, qualitative field study approach to investigate the role of the implementation team attributes in ERP system adoption. Project success is assessed on three determinants, i.e. support of organizational activities, stakeholder satisfaction, and system acceptance. Findings The findings provide new insights as to the extent to which prior assumptions from the information systems literature apply in the ERP system implementation context. The results indicate that team empowerment and cohesion are not necessary precursors to project success as their impact depends on the adoption context. Practical implications The circumstances under which the impact of low team empowerment and low cohesion can be alleviated in ERP adoption projects are discussed. Originality/value The paper offers explanations as to why certain established assumptions regarding information systems teams and project success may not apply to an ERP adoption context.

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