Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Introduction: ERP – The Quiet Revolution?
- Part I Implementation and Effectiveness: Overview
- Part II From Risks to Critical Success Factors
- Part III From Learning to Knowledge
- 10 Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: The Role of Learning from Failure
- 11 ERP Projects: Good or Bad for SMEs?
- 12 The Role of the CIO and IT Functions in ERP
- 13 Enterprise System Management with Reference Process Models
- 14 An ERP Implementation Case Study from a Knowledge Transfer Perspective
- 15 Knowledge Integration Processes within the Context of Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation
- Part IV Cultural Aspects of Enterprise Systems
- Part V Future Directions
- Index
- References
10 - Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: The Role of Learning from Failure
from Part III - From Learning to Knowledge
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2012
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Introduction: ERP – The Quiet Revolution?
- Part I Implementation and Effectiveness: Overview
- Part II From Risks to Critical Success Factors
- Part III From Learning to Knowledge
- 10 Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: The Role of Learning from Failure
- 11 ERP Projects: Good or Bad for SMEs?
- 12 The Role of the CIO and IT Functions in ERP
- 13 Enterprise System Management with Reference Process Models
- 14 An ERP Implementation Case Study from a Knowledge Transfer Perspective
- 15 Knowledge Integration Processes within the Context of Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation
- Part IV Cultural Aspects of Enterprise Systems
- Part V Future Directions
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
Problems associated with software implementations are not new, nor specific to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Nevertheless, ERP systems have been blamed for the poor performance of several organizations (Osterland, 2000). A number of companies have reported negative impacts on earnings as the changeover to an ERP takes place, among them Hershey (Girard and Farmer, 1999), AeroGroup (Asbrand, 1999), and Snap-On (Hoffman, 1998). Hershey, for example, suffered a third quarter (1999) sales decrease of 12.4% and an earnings decrease of 18.6% compared with the preceding year (Osterland, 2000).
Implementing an ERP is a major undertaking and the Standish Group International estimates that 90% of SAP R/3 (the dominant ERP) projects run late (Williamson, 1997). The trade press is now also replete with articles on ERP failures, cancellations, and cost/time overruns. Dell canceled its R/3 system after two years when it determined that it could not support the required processes (King, 1997). AeroGroup (Asbrand, 1999), Unisource (IW, 1998), and a number of garbage disposal companies (Bailey, 1999) also abandoned their ERP projects. The most dramatic example of an organization claiming to be damaged by an ERP implementation is that of FoxMeyer Drug Corporation. FoxMeyer claims that its SAP R/3 system sent the company into bankruptcy (Bulkeley, 1996). Note, however, that, at the same time, many companies have experienced benefits that far exceeded their expectations (Davenport, 1998; Deloitte Consulting, 1998).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Second-Wave Enterprise Resource Planning SystemsImplementing for Effectiveness, pp. 241 - 274Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003
References
Alschuler, D. and Dorin, R. (1998) Accelerated SAP Works! An Executive White Paper, Aberdeen Group, June. http://www.aberdeen.com
Ang, K., Thong, J., and Yap, C. (1997) IT Implementation through the Lens of Organizational Learning: A Case of Insuror. Eighteenth International Conference on Information Systems, Charlotte
Argyris, C. (1985) Strategy, Change and Defensive Routines. Boston, MA: Pitman
Argyris, C. and Schon, D. A. (1978) Organizational Learning. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
Asbrand, D. (1999) Peering Across the Abyss: Clothing and Shoe Companies Cross the ERP Chasm. Datamation, Executive Diary: Part 3, January
(1992) Technology Diffusion and Organizational Learning: The Case of Business Computing. Organization Science 3, 1–19CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, J. (1999) Trash Haulers Are Taking Fancy Software to the Dump: Allied Waste, Following Waste Management, to Shed SAP's Costly R/3. The Wall Street Journal, 9 June, p. B4
Bancroft, N., Seip, H., and Sprengel, A. (1998) Implementing SAP R/3: How to Introduce a Large System into a Large Organization. 2nd edn, Manning Publications, Chapters 6, 7, and 11
, , and (1993) Toward an Assessment of Software Development Risk. Journal of Management Information Systems, 10(2), 203–225CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Block, R. (1983) The Politics of Projects. Yourdon Press, Prentice-Hall, Chapter 1
Brown, C. and Vessey, I. (1999) ERP Implementation Approaches: Towards a Contingency Framework. Research-in-Progress, Twentieth International Conference on Information Systems, Charlotte
Bulkeley, W. M. (1996) When Things Go Wrong. The Wall Street Journal, 18 November, R25
Caldwell B. (1998) Andersen Sued On R/3. InformationWeek, 6 July
Champy, J. (1997) Packaged Systems: One Way to Force Change. Computerworld, 22 December, 61
Cliffe, S. (1999) ERP Implementation: How to Avoid $100 Million Write-Offs. Harvard Business Review, January–February, 16–17
Computergram International (1998) FoxMeyer Plus Two Sue Andersen for SAP Snafus. Computergram International, 20 July
Davenport, T. H. (1998) Putting the Enterprise into Enterprise Systems. Harvard Business Review, July–August, 121–131
Deloitte Consulting (1998) ERP's Second Wave: Maximizing the Value of ERP-Enabled Processes
(1993) Organizational Learning: A Review of Some Literatures. Organization Studies, 14(3), 375–394CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Financial Times (1998) SAP in $500m US lawsuit. Financial Times, Surveys, 2 September, 2
, and (1985) Organizational Learning. Academy of Management Review, 10(4), 803–813CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gable, G. G. (2000) The Expert's opinion – A Conversation with Tom Davenport. Journal of Global Information Management, 8, 60–62, Idea Publishing Group
Girard, K. and Farmer, M. A. (1999) Business software firms Sued over implementation. CNET News.com, 3 November. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1008-202-1428800.html
Hedberg, B. (1981) How Organizations Learn and Unlearn. In Handbook of Organizational Design, P. C. Nystrom and W. H. Starbuck (eds), Vol. 1, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 3–27
Hoffman, T. (1998) Software Snafu Triggers Order Delays, Loss: Snap-On Software Leads to $50m. Dip, Computerworld, News, 6 July, 6
Holland, C. P. and Light, B. (1999) A Critical Success Factors Model for ERP Implementation. IEEE Software, March/June, 30–35CrossRef
(1991) Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and Literatures. Organization Science, 2(1), 88–115CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Information Week (IW) (1998) SAP Installation Scuttled: Unisource Cites Internal Problems for $168m Write-off. Information Week, 26 January
Jesitus, J. (1997) Broken Promises? FoxMeyer' s Project was a Disaster. Was the Company Too Aggressive or was it Misled? Industry Week, 3 November, pp. 31–37
King, J. (1997) Dell Zaps SAP. Computerworld, 26 May, 2
(1995) Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, 73(2), 59–67Google Scholar
Levitt, B. and March, J. G. (1988) Organizational Learning. In Scott, W. R. and Blake, J. (eds) Annual Review of Sociology 14, 319–340CrossRef
LJX Files, The Complaint in Brown v. Andersen Consulting (1997), http://www.ljx.com/LJXfiles/bankruptcy/andersen.html
and (1987) Adaptive Coordination of a Learning Team. Management Science 33, 107–123CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (1998) Attention Shaping and Software Risk – A Categorical Analysis of Four Classical Risk Management Approaches. Information Systems Research, 9(3), 233–255CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1991) Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71–87CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1997) The Magic Bullet Theory in IT-Enabled Transformation. Sloan Management Review, 38(2), 55–68Google Scholar
Markus, M. L. and Tanis, C. (2000) The Enterprise Systems Experience – From Adoption to Success. In Framing the Domains of IT Research: Glimpsing the Future Through the Past, R. W. Zmud (ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Pinnaflex Educational Resources
(1994) A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14–37CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osterland, A. (2000) Blaming ERP. CFO Magazine, January. (http://www.cfonet.com/Articles/CFO/2000/00Jablam.html)
(1995) Information Systems and Organizational Learning: The Social Epistemology of Organizational Knowledge Systems. Accounting, Management and Information Technologies, 5(1), 1–21CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1985) How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage. Harvard Business Review 63, 149–160Google Scholar
Radosevich, L. (1997) Quantum's Leap. CIO, 15 February
, , and (1995) Merging the Metaphors for Organizational Improvement: Business Process Reengineering as a Component of Organizational Learning. Accounting, Management and Information Technologies, 5(1), 23-39CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, J. (1996a) Dow Corning Corporation (A): Business Processes and Information Technology. Center for Information Systems Research, Sloan School of Management, MIT
Ross, J. (1996b) Dow Corning Corporation (B): Reengineering Global Processes. Center for Information Systems Research, Sloan School of Management, MIT
Ross, J. (1999c) Dow Corning (C): Transforming the Organization. Center for Information Systems Research, Sloan School of Management, MIT
Sauer, C. (1999) Deciding the Future for IS Failures: Not the Choice You Might Think. In Rethinking Management Information Systems: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. W. Currie and R. G. Galliers (eds), Oxford: Oxford University Press
Scott, J. E. (1999) The FoxMeyer Drugs' Bankruptcy: Was it a Failure of ERP? Proceedings of the Fifth Americas Conference on Information Systems, pp. 223–225
Scott, J. E. and Vessey, I. (2000) Toward a Multi-Level Theory of Risks in Enterprise Systems Implementations. Working Paper
Senge, P. M. (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Doubleday
(1992) Learning Through Failure: The Strategy of Small Losses. Research in Organizational Behavior 14, 231–266Google Scholar
(1998) Big-bang R/3 Rollout Forced Compromises with Business Goals. Computerworld, 32(11), March 16, 1, 97Google Scholar
and (1995) Actualizing Organizational Memory with Information Systems. Information Systems Research, 6(2), 85–117CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sumner, M. (1999) Critical Success Factors in Enterprise Wide Information Management Systems Projects. Proceedings of the ACM-SIGCPR Conference, 297–303CrossRef
Welti, N. (1999) Successful SAP R/3 Implementation: Practical Management of ERP Projects. Addison-Wesley Longman, Chapter 2
Willcocks, L. P. and Griffiths, C. (1997) Management and Risk in Major Information Technology Projects. In Managing IT as a Strategic Resource, Willcocks, L. P., Feeny, D., and Islel, G. (eds), Berkshire: McGraw-Hill, pp. 203–237
Williamson, M. (1997) From SAP to ‘nuts!’. Computerworld, 31, 45, 10 November, 68–69
- 4
- Cited by