Abstract
Purpose The paper aims to present a conceptual model that better defines critical success factors to ERP implementation organized with the technology, organization and environment (TOE) framework. The paper also adds to current literature the critical success factor of trust with the vendor, system and consultant which has largely been ignored in the past.
Design/methodology/approach The paper uses past literature and theoretical and conceptual framework development to illustrate a new conceptual model that incorporates critical success factors that have both been empirically tied to ERP implementation success in the past and new insights into how trust impacts ERP implementation success.
Findings The paper finds a lack of research depicted in how trust impacts ERP implementation success and likewise a lack of a greater conceptual model organized to provide insight into ERP implementation success.
Originality/value The paper proposes a holistic conceptual framework for ERP implementation success and discusses the impact that trust with the vendor, system and consultant has on ERP implementation success.
Introduction
ERP systems are software packages that integrate a number of business processes, such as manufacturing, supply chain, sales, finance, human resources, budgeting and customer service activities (Amalnick et al., 2011; Weinrich and Ahmad, 2009). The question, “what makes implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system a success?” has been studied extensively in the past few years. Yet little research has been done on the impact of trust with vendors, systems and consultants and how it affects ERP implementation success. We, like other previous researchers, believe that ERP evaluation should extend beyond operational improvements to the more strategic impact of ERP looking at the intangible nature of costs and benefits in organizational, technological and behavioral aspects (Stefanou, 2001).
Conclusion
Past literature has criticized the development and long list of CSFs in ERP implementation research, referring to them as “laundry lists” without insight into how one affects another and vice versa (Akkermans and Van Helden, 2002; Richmond, 1993). We believe that future research should entail a greater understanding of ERP implementations using a holistic approach that analyzes ERP implementation success and refrains from a reductionistic perspective that reduces ERP implementation into a subset of factors that is incomplete. The problems of reductionism in ERP implementation CSFs have also been examined by Wood and Caldas (2001), who recommend ERP implementation should be thought of as a major organizational change process and should not be planned and conducted with a reductionist point of view.
