Empirical studies on the adoption and implementation of ERP in SMEs in developing countries

Abstract

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) helps organizations to centralize their activities, to improve their communications, to reduce their operational and maintenance costs, and basically to have a single integrated application throughout an organization, among many other benefits. Initially, it was only implemented by large organizations, but now small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are also implementing it. It was also initially implemented in the developed countries where it was developed. But that too has changed and now companies in developing countries are implementing ERP too.

The research objective of this study is to investigate the adoption and implementation of ERP systems in developing countries. The study employed several research methodologies, but it was dominated by grounded theory. The data of the study was collected from 30 companies. Thirty-nine interviews were conducted in those companies with the owners of SMEs and the employees of both large organizations and SMEs.

The results of the study suggest that there are several factors that influence the adoption of ERP by SMEs. The study has also identified challenges that hinder SMEs from adopting ERP. It also identified challenges that SMEs undergo when implementing ERP and after implementation. The data collected was used to identify the requirements that are necessary for SMEs to have a successful ERP implementation.

The results of the study can be used by SMEs that are planning to implement ERP, to help them achieve successful implementations. It can also be used by ERP vendors to understand the challenges of SMEs and to develop systems that suit them best.