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15 - Knowledge Integration Processes within the Context of Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation

from Part III - From Learning to Knowledge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2012

By
Jimmy Huang ,
Sue Newell  and
Robert Galliers
Edited by
Graeme Shanks ,
Peter B. Seddon  and
Leslie P. Willcocks
Jimmy Huang
Affiliation:
Lecturer in the Information Technology and Strategy Group, Nottingham University Business School, UK
Sue Newell
Affiliation:
Professor of Innovation and Organizational Analysis in the School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
Graeme Shanks
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne
Peter B. Seddon
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne
Leslie P. Willcocks
Affiliation:
University of Warwick
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Summary

Introduction

An increasing number of multinational enterprises (MNE) have adopted ERP systems in the hope of increasing productivity and efficiency as a means of leveraging organizational competitiveness (Davenport, 1998; Wagle, 1998). While some are starting to harvest the benefits from their initial investments, others are still struggling to release the promised potential of their ERP systems. This can be seen as an illustration of the ‘productivity paradox’ (Fitzgerald, 1998), that is that firms face a significant problem in measuring the return on their IT investments. While there have been several accounts that have examined the adoption of technology, including ERP, few of these accounts have considered this from the perspective of cross-functional knowledge integration (Grant, 1996). Against this backdrop, a case study was conducted as a means of exploring and theorizing the dynamics of knowledge integration underlying the process of ERP implementation. In this paper we focus not only on presenting the theoretical framework but also on describing the stages that were undergone to derive this framework.

Current Debates and Perspectives

There is a great deal of literature conceptualizing the phenomenon of how firms implement new IT systems. This study draws upon research in four distinctive areas, including (1) the development of technology, (2) the process of technology implementation, (3) enabling and inhibiting factors, and (4) management of process innovation.

Type
Chapter
Information
Second-Wave Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
Implementing for Effectiveness
 , pp. 351 - 370
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2003

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