Understanding the Business Consequences of ERP Systems

Abstract

This study examines the postimplementation period of an ERP implementation in an Australian manufacturing organization, with the aim of understanding and explaining the business consequences that occurred. The description of the case is followed by an analysis using the structurational model of technology. The radical change in the way users needed to understand the business in terms of the new system, coupled with insufficient training and support postimplementation, and user resistance to change, impacted on the benefits the organization gained from the system.