Jacques Verville

So you're thinking of buying an ERP? Ten critical factors for successful acquisitions

Purpose – This paper aims to present a discussion of the critical success factors (CSF) that affect the acquisition process for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.Design/methodology/approach – The research strategy was a multiple‐case design with three organizations that had recently completed the acquisition of an ERP solution. The rationale for the multiple‐case design was that, as a research strategy, the focus could be directed to understanding the dynamics and complexities present within each case, these being critical success factors of the ERP software acquisition process within the organization.Findings – This study identified ten factors critical to the successful outcome of acquiring an ERP solution. Their omission would have resulted in a less than optimal outcome for the organization. For each of the three cases, the elements that stand out the most are as follows: clear and unambiguous authority, a structured, rigorous and user‐driven process, its planning, the establishment of crite...

A qualitative study of the influencing factors on the decision process for acquiring ERP software

This paper focuses on the influences and characteristics of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) acquisition process (ERPAP) that were found during a multiple‐case study of four organizations that had acquired ERP solutions. From organizational buying behaviour (OBB), Webster and Wind’s (Prentice‐Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1972) served as the basis for categorizing the influences that surfaced during the study. While Webster and Wind’s model presents a broad scope of variables that might affect organizational buying without distinguishing those variables that are dependent on specific buying situations, the research herein highlights variables (influences and characteristics) specific to the buying situation for ERP software packages. Numerous influences emerged, among the most notable of which was the influence of users. Five prominent characteristics were also noted. A future study of these influences could examine the extent to which they impact the ERPAP and could serve to help organizations minimize those that are shown to hinder it.

Can Hofstede's Model Explain National Differences in Perceived Information Overload? A Look at Data From the US and New Zealand

Hofstedes cultural dimensions model has been widely used as a basic explanatory and predictive model in a variety of business studies, including studies addressing information management and electronic communication issues. This study aimed at assessing Hofstedes model by looking into a key issue for information management and electronic communication-information overload. The study compared information overload-related data from the US and New Zealand. The sample involved 108 MBA students who held professional or management positions. Data analyses employed comparisons of means and partial least squares (PLS)-based structural equation modeling techniques. Information overload perceptions in the two countries appear to differ significantly. This finding seems to be inconsistent with the relatively small differences in cultural dimension scores between the US and New Zealand, and with those two countries being placed in the same country cluster in Hofstedes model. The results call into question the adequacy of Hofstedes model as a basis to explain information management phenomena.

Disparity of the infusion of e-business within SMEs: a global perspective

The objective of this paper is to present the initial phase of a study on e-business infusion among SMEs. Currently organisations, in particular Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), are in the midst of change. The use of the internet for e-business could be a medium for SMEs to respond to changes in the marketplace. Meanwhile, the adoption of internet by SMEs as a tool to enhance the business process has been slow. This paper provides an overview of the state of SMEs infusion and a brief description by continent: Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America.

Enterprise Systems contracting: developing and testing a model of divergent approaches in the service and manufacturing sectors

Virtually all Enterprise Systems (ES) implementation projects start with a purchase contract. Yet there has been little research on ES contracting approaches, and how those approaches relate to the previous literature on productivity gains from spending on those systems. Building on the IT productivity paradox notion, this paper proposes a model of divergent ES contracting approaches in the service and manufacturing sectors. Two main ES contracting approaches are defined - the revisionist-adversarial approach, associated with ES contracting elements geared at potentially short-term and change-oriented relationships with ES vendors; and the preservationist-cooperative approach, associated with ES contracting elements aimed at mutual cooperation over the long run with ES vendors. It is proposed that service sector organisations generally display a preference toward the revisionist-adversarial approach, whereas manufacturing sector organisations generally display a preference toward a preservationist-cooperative approach. These propositions, which are aligned with the IT productivity paradox phenomenon, are supported by a survey of 116 organisations.

A myriad of digital divides: a global comparison of internet and cellular divides

Digital divide refers to ‘inequalities’ in access and use of information-communication technologies (ICT). This research classifies internet and cellular divides globally. Cluster analysis and a two-step classification process in organising data from 155 countries are used. Countries are classified by level of digital access then by digital access. This research shows that the importance of digital access is less pronounced for the internet than cellular use. Countries with lower access appear more homogeneous than those with a higher level. Finally, we show that the digital divide is relative to both the country and the type of technology studied.

A Three-Dimensional Approach in Evaluating ERP Software Within the Acquisition Process

This paper is based on an extensive study of the evaluation process of the acquisition of an ERP software of four organizations. Three distinct process types and activities were found: vendor’s evaluation, functional evaluation, and technical evaluation. This paper provides another perspective on evaluation and sets it apart as modality for action, whose intent is to investigate and uncover by means of specific defined evaluative activities all issues pertinent to ERP software that an organization can use in its decision to acquire a solution that will meet its needs (i.e., the assessment of the vendor, technology, and fit of a specific ERP software to a given organization).

Decision Process for Acquiring Complex ERP Solutions: The Case of ITCom

Abstract ITCom is an international telecommunications organization that began but did not complete the purchase of a proposed US

Web-based software contracting: an experimental study of deception identification across two different media

10 million packaged ERP solution (international billing system). Ten individuals participated on ITCom’s Acquisition Team, the five principals of which were interviewed for this case. From its initiation to its cessation, the acquisition process took approximately 9 months. Data for this case was collected in August and September 1997, just weeks after the decision was made to halt the process owing to an impasse on issues of code ownership and cost. The ERP acquisition process that the organization went through was, nevertheless, quite rigorous and presents some interesting insights and lessons that would be of value to other organizations, among them, the influence of new management on the overall process.

Media Naturalness and Online Learning: Findings Supporting Both the Significant- and No-Significant-Difference Perspectives.

This study analyses choices made by subjects who were asked to accept or reject each of 20 clauses of a web-based software-purchasing contract, of which six clauses were deceitful. The subjects were split into two media conditions. In the text condition, the clauses were presented as text in a web browser window. In the video condition, web browser-embedded video clips were used. No significant differences were found across media conditions. Surprisingly though, the subjects did 18% and 14% worse than chance in terms of rejecting deceitful clauses through the text and video conditions, respectively.