Abstract
Purpose This study aims to analyze the innovations introduced, with reference to enterprise resource planning, in the Italian wood–furniture sector, focusing attention on the COSMOB S.p.A. case study, identifying how this small company tried to exploit the advantages offered by the introduction of new digital technologies to remain competitive in the context of the accredited Test Laboratories in the furniture industry.
Design/methodology/approach The research has been developed with a qualitative approach. The study is a conceptual development and it uses exploratory interviews to create a single case study of COSMOB. The case study was developed with the realization by the researcher of a long period of support to the company’s Quality Manager, and periodic bi-monthly interviews for an update of their perceptions on the development of the activity.
Findings The need for rapid decision-making processes, the management of high volumes of data and the need for inter- and intra-organizational connection had a critical relief in company’s decision to adopt the integrated software. As for the main problems related to its adoption, these were the duration of the implementation of the operation, the complexity of the system and its limited adaptability.
Originality/value The value of the paper relies on the development of an in-depth company case study, where the researcher supported the implementation of the system for the entire activity, obtaining therefore, a qualitative base of information that cannot be obtained through limited interviews.
1. Introduction
The evolution of information systems has followed that of information technology (IT). But it was not until the 1990s that enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems also became widespread in small- and medium-sized businesses as tools to manage business processes in an integrated manner (Seethamraju, 2015). The collection and processing of information has become, in recent decades, a fundamental competitive factor. Information plays a crucial role within the business system, providing an important contribution to all the processes that support corporate governance. Some studies have shown that corporate performance and competitive advantage are increasingly linked to intangible elements such as information assets and knowledge development and sharing (Morabito, 2013). In this context, political initiatives have begun to support companies in the transition to the so-called “Industry 4.0” (Weyer et al., 2015). This term refers to the digitalization of production processes and the diffusion of artificial intelligence embedded in objects. The technological elements that are currently transforming the industrial world are represented by the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing (Lee et al., 2015; Bravi et al., 2018; Basl, 2017).
