Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Implementation as a Complex Project: A Conceptual Framework
Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Implementation as a Complex Project: A Conceptual Framework

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate current literature on critical success factors (CSF) and risk factors (RF) of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementation and provide a systemic explanation of complexities involved in such implementation. This study will compile literature that highlighted possible references to CSFs of ERP implementations, definition of complex projects and ERP are compared with Project management and project governance impacts. By analyzing highly likely CFS and RFs mentioned in literature, CSF and RFs will be mapped to project complexities involved in any ERP implementation. This is an exploratory study as it is based on literature review to understand ERP implementation and validations. The future research needs to include data collection from ERP adopters and longitudinal analyses of trends based on advances in ERP project management and governance capabilities in different ERP implementations. This article will be significant contribution to current body of knowledge because it helps us understand ERP application implementation as a complex project instead of linear system as currently documented in the literature. This article has outlined the conceptual revisions needed to extend the new project management approach from its current linear way of looking into project management of ERP projects. The article suggests that ERP project management is best understood within the context of environmental complexities. This paper is the first attempt to explore ERP implementations based on current enterprise environment and how to meet those CSF and RFs from complexity perspective.

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