Enterprise resource planning systems selection in the wine industry of the Western Cape : a qualitative case study

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The globalised business environment of the 21st century is a complex space for organisationsto navigate. As a means of dealing with the challenges and demands brought aboutby increased interconnectedness and interdependence, organisations are increasingly turningto information and communication technology (ICT), and especially advanced formsof ICT such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. An ERP system encompassesthe promise of a seamless integration of business processes to be managed by asingle business software application, which can be used to increase competitiveness andassist managers in strategically positioning their organisations for the future.This is especially true in the case of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) whichconstitute a large and important part of the economies of numerous countries. As the ERPsystems market for larger organisations became saturated at the beginning of the previousdecade, ERP system vendors started to target SMEs by developing smaller and lessexpensive software solutions specifically aimed at this market segment. However, researchhas shown that these enterprises differ from their larger counterparts in size-specific andindustry-specific ways which can greatly affect their acquisition of ERP systems: SMEsoften face severe resource constraints and cannot afford the costs associated with failedERP system implementation efforts. As a result, it becomes all the more important tofollow a proper ERP system selection procedure before committing scarce and irrevocableresources to implementation.The purpose of this thesis is to define and describe the size-specific and industryspecificfactors that play an important role during ERP system selection (Chapter 1).ERP system selection factors in the literature are summarised and synthesised into acomprehensive framework used to guide the execution of the study (Chapter 2). To this end, a qualitative case study was conducted on an SME in the wine industry of the WesternCape that was in the process of selecting an ERP system. Data were collected bycritically analysing and reviewing documents, conducting direct observations of requirementsanalysis meetings and interviewing participants purposefully selected for the study(Chapter 3). Five major themes emerged from the analysis of the collected data and fromthis a total of 14 selection factors are identified (Chapter 4). These results largely corroborateexisting selection factors from the literature and allows ideas proposed by variousauthors to be expanded on. In this way, a theoretical foundation is laid for the developmentof an ERP system selection model for SMEs in the Western Cape wine industryin future research (Chapter 5). The contribution of this research lies in the emphasis itplaces on the different benefits and shortcomings present in each quadrant of the proposedmodel and the explanation it provides for how this influences a selection factor trade-offthat is unique to each organisation and the industry it operates in. This insight can beused to direct the ERP system selection process.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University