Technological, Organisational and Environmental Drivers for Enterprise Systems Upgrade

Feldman, Gerald and Shah, Hanifa and Chapman, Craig and Amini, Ardavan (2016) Technological, Organisational and Environmental Drivers for Enterprise Systems Upgrade. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116 (8). pp. 1636-1655. ISSN 0263-5577

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Abstract

Purpose

Enterprise systems (ES) upgrade is a complex phenomenon, yet it is possible to reduce the complexity through understanding of the upgrade drivers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the various upgrade drivers, in order to provide a detailed understanding of the factors driving upgrade decisions.
Design/methodology/approach

This research is grounded in a qualitative survey design. It utilises a web-based survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to collect data from 41 respondents representing 23 large organisations. The data were qualitatively analysed and coded to identify the various drivers and their influence on ES upgrade decisions.
Findings

The findings suggest that the upgrade decisions are dependent on establishing the need to upgrade, which is influenced by various drivers and stakeholders interests. In addition, the findings suggest that organisations would only opt to upgrade when benefits are aligned with the upgrade and when the decision makes business sense.
Research limitations/implications

In this paper, the authors propose that there is a relationship between the upgrade drivers and the upgrade strategy. However, qualitative studies can only formulate logical generalisations. Hence, future research could explore these associations through a quantitative study in order to provide probabilistic generalisation that offers either similar or conflicting arguments applicable to ES upgrade phenomenon.
Originality/value

This paper provides an alternative classification of upgrade drivers, and conceptualises an association between upgrade drivers and the upgrade strategy, which in turn facilitates minimising disruptions and upgrade risks.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1108/IMDS-09-2015-0407
Dates:	Date Event 12 September 2016 Published Online 21 February 2016 Accepted
Subjects:	CAH10 - engineering and technology > CAH10-01 - engineering > CAH10-01-01 - engineering (non-specific)
Divisions:	Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment > College of Engineering
Depositing User:	Users 18 not found.
Date Deposited:	23 Aug 2016 09:26
Last Modified:	20 Jun 2024 11:51
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/3233

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