Constraints and Flexibility in Enterprise Systems: A Dialectic of System and Job

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a key finding from a case study of an SAP R/3 implementation – a pattern of organizational change involving a dialectical interplay between the characteristics of the information system and those of the jobs of the users of the system. Analysis of the case study data revealed a shift in constraints and flexibility between the information system and individual jobs as a result of the enterprise-wide system implementation.