The influence of external factors on routine ERP usage
| Published date | 27 September 2011 |
| Date | 27 September 2011 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02635571111182818 |
| Pages | 1511-1530 |
| Author | Simona Sternad,Miro Gradisar,Samo Bobek |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
The influence of external factors
on routine ERP usage
Simona Sternad
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
Miro Gradisar
Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia, and
Samo Bobek
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
Abstract
Purpose – Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have been implemented in most
organizations for a few years. ERP solutions go through three phases of lifecycle: selection,
implementation and operation phase; the operation phase consists of the stabilization stage and the
routine stage. To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ERP system use in the operation phase,
organizations need to research the factors that have impact on users’ satisfaction. The literature shows
that few published studies have examined users’ adoption of ERP systems through a technological
acceptance model (TAM) or examined external factors that have influence the intention to use an ERP
system, or ERP use in the stabilization stage. The purpose of this paper is to expose and research
external factors which have influence on ERP users in the operation phase of ERP lifecycle and to
investigate the impact of those factors on ERP system use.
Design/methodology/approach – The TAM proposed by Davis has been the most widely-used
model for researching user acceptance and usage of information technology/information systems.
Despite the existence of several additions to TAM connected with ERP use, the authors aim to make
further contribution in the area of external factors. Within this context the present research is focused
on the mature use of ERP system (more than one year of ERP use in an organization). A limited
number of external factors mentioned in already published papers connected with TAM regarding
ERP use has also been extended. The authors have researched the effect of external factors through the
second-order factors on the original TAM. The model has been empirically tested using the data
collected from a survey of 161 ERP users from a national telecom company, which has been using an
ERP system since 1999. The model has been analysed using PLS approach.
Findings – The study shows that extended external factors observed through the second-order
factors have important influence on ERP usefulness and ERP ease of use; they also have a strong
influence on the attitude toward using ERP system by ERP users in the routine (maturity) stage.
Originality/value – The paper researches the factors which have an impact on ERP solution use in
the routine (mature) stage of ERP lifecycle. The paper adds to the literature, in that few previous
studies have examined the users’ adoption of ERP systems through the TAM or examined external
factors that have influence on the intention to use an ERP system or ERP use in the stabilization stage.
Keywords Slovenia, Manufacturing resource planning,Resource management,
Enterprise resourceplanning, ERP, Technological acceptance model, TAM, Partialleast squares, PLS,
Second-orderfactors
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are integrated, all-encompassing, complex
mega packages designed to support key functional areas of organizations (A dam and
Sammon, 2004). They integrate information from various sources inside and outside
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm
ERP usage
1511
Received 1 March 2011
Revised 7 June 2011
Accepted 10 June 2011
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 111 No. 9, 2011
pp. 1511-1530
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/02635571111182818
the organization and can provide real-time data to employees and organizational
partners (Motiwalla and Thompson, 2009). ERP solutions have been adopted by many
large organizations (Momoh et al., 2010) and are a basic tool for enterprises seeking to
merge supply chain management systems and integrate inter-company and
international collaborative operations across entire industry processes (Yu, 2005).
ERP systems have been shown to reduce the time to complete business processes and
help organizations share information (Olhager and Selldin, 2003; Lee et al., 2010),
facilitating an integrated and coordinated work flow among supply chain stakeholders.
As with other information systems (IS), ERP system adoption typically follows three
lifecycle phases: selection, implementation and operation, the latter of which can be
divided into a stabilization stage and a routine stage. Most literature on ERP solutions is
focused on either evaluating the appropriateness of the ERP system vis-a
`-vis software,
vendors, or consultants, or identifying critical successful factors (CSFs) affecting ERP
selection and implementation (Yu, 2005), but less effort is given to identifying
potential post-implementation impact (Gattiker and Goodhue, 2005). Several CSFs have
been identified in the selection and implementation phases, including: top management
support and involvement; clear goals, objectives, scope and planning; project team
competence and organization; user training and education; business process
reengineering; change management; effective communication; project management;
user involvement; data ana lysis and conversion; cons ultants; project sponsor;
architecture choice; and minimal customization (Welti, 1999; Al-Sehali, 2000; Parr and
Shanks, 2000; Skok and Legge, 2002; Zhang et al., 2002; Zhang et al., 2002; Akkermans
and Helden, 2002; Stratman, 2002; Gattiker and CFPIM, 2002; Umble et al., 2002;
Mabert et al., 2003; Al-Mashari et al., 2003; Bradford and Florin, 2003; Somers and
Nelson, 2003; Gargeya and Brady, 2005; Ngai et al., 2007; Finney and Corbett, 2007;
Wang et al., 2007; Bobek and Sternad, 2010). CSFs are not equally important in all phases
of the ERP lifecycle, however (Bobek and Sternad, 2010); some influence operational
effectiveness as well as implementation (Gattiker and Goodhue, 2005).
Much of the success of ERP implementation resides in the operational
phase (Bradford, 2008; Motiwalla and Thompson, 2009). In the stabilization stage,
ERP systems go through a post-imple mentation breaking-in period in wh ich
performance may not be typical of the long-term effects an organization might
experience (Gattiker and Goodhue, 2005). In the routine stage, ERP systems might be
implemented successfully from a technical perspective, but success depends on ERP
users’ attitudes toward and actual use of the system (Boudreau, 2002; Kwahk and Lee,
2008). ERP systems benefit organizations only to the extent that users accept and utilize
them frequently and extensively. To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ERP
systems in the operation phase, organizations need to research the factors that impact
user satisfaction. In this area, the technological acceptance model (TAM) is widely used
for explaining behavioural intent and usage; it can enhance understanding influences
that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of ERP system use (Shih and Huang, 2009).
Several researchers have applied TAM to examine ERP system use (Calisir et al., 2009;
Shih and Huang, 2009; Sun et al., 2009; Youngberg et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2010), but
few scholars have examined multiple external factors that influence intent to use an ERP
system or ERP system usage in the stabilization stage. Although a small number of
external factors fail to illuminate user opinions about specific systems
IMDS
111,9
1512
To continue reading
Request your trial