The Impact of ERP Implementation on Business Process Outcomes: A Factor-Based Study

TLDR

Large‑scale IT implementation failures are well documented in practitioner literature. The study investigates why certain firms gain more benefit from ERP implementation than others. The authors analyze ERP implementation using a technological diffusion framework to identify contextual conditions that maximize its impact on business process outcomes. Empirical results indicate that the extent of ERP implementation affects business process outcomes, moderated by ERP radicalness and delivery system, providing managers with actionable factor guidance and advancing theoretical understanding of implementation failures.

Abstract

Failures in large-scale information technology implementation are abundantly documented in the practitioner literature. In this study, we examine why some firms benefit more from enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation than others. We look at ERP implementation from a technological diffusion perspective, and investigate under what contextual conditions the extent of ERP implementation has the greatest effect on business process outcomes. Using empirical data, we find that the extent of ERP implementation influences business process outcomes, and both ERP radicalness and delivery system play moderating roles. For information systems (IS) practice, this study helps managers direct their attention to the most promising factors, provides insights into how to manage their complex interactions, and elaborates on their differential effects on business process outcomes. For IS research, it integrates innovation diffusion theory into our current knowledge of ERP implementation and provides theoretical explanations for ERP implementation failures.