AN ERP SELECTION, ACQUISITION AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS CONSIDERING THE STAKEHOLDERS’ PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

The life cycle of ERP extended the phases of the life cycle of systems, as stated by the Systems Theory. After ERP systems were introduced in the market under the conception of “packaged products”, phases like selection and acquisition started to compose their life cycle. Since then, a larger group of stakeholders - such as software suppliers, consultants and governmental entities or partners - becomes involved in the process, looking for an ERP system that could assure efficiency, transparency, integrity and trustworthiness of the information, in order to get better performance in decision making. This paper aims to configure the selection, acquisition and implementation process of an ERP system, considering the social groups involved in each phase of this process. Through the application of grounded theory methodology (chronological arrangement, codification of categories and a continuous theoretical saturation) it was possible to configure the process of selection, acquisition and implementation of ERP systems in two case studies. These case studies allowed the emergence of organizational context elements (strategy, culture, and environment), structuring elements (phases and steps) and enabling elements of the process which arose from the social-technical lens of the involved stakeholders. The main academic contribution relies in the use of grounded theory for the composition of the selection, acquisition and implementation process of ERP systems in a systematical way. Empirically, this study contributes by highlighting the trustworthiness and transparency of the process as a whole, assuring the choice, a greater adherence of the product to business requirements and a better use of the resources.