Analysis of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system workarounds with a resilience perspective

Abstract

Purpose Workarounds are defined as user-formulated solutions that overcome the obstacles preventing the system's execution from the users' lenses. In this paper, the authors aim to analyze the workarounds in system implementations and post-implementations with reflections on different levels of resilience in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors conduct a critical review of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system workarounds by evaluating whether the workarounds are treated as resilience enhancers or as hinderers at multiple levels. While doing this evaluation, the authors try to understand the nature of the workarounds (self-serving, social-serving) with respective levels of analysis for resilience (ERP resilience, organizational resilience, team resilience, employee resilience) and to integrate the assessment of similar concepts to resilience such as adaptability, flexibility and agility (in survival and sustainability dimensions). Findings Workaround solutions can be treated as resilience enhancers when the alternative solutions overcome some systemic problems and prevent system failures in the short run, but in the long term, they should motivate positive change and organizational dynamics. Otherwise, weaknesses of informal workarounds may become embedded in practice, and prevent confronting and correcting the shortcomings of the system and thus harm resilience. Originality/value The differentiation of workarounds as self-serving or social-serving and the resilience perspective toward workarounds with different levels of analysis and integrating resilience relevant concepts such as adaptability, agility and flexibility are new as far as the authors know.

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