Enterprise resource planning systems implementation and upgrade (a Kenyan study)

In recent years there has been an increase in using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in large companies and government corporations mainly in developed countries. While there is wide adoption of ERP systems in Western economies, developing countries lag far behind. However, due to recent economic growth, developing countries such as Kenya are increasingly becoming major targets of ERP vendors. There is an urgent need for under- standing ERP implementation issues in developing countries, as ERP systems are still in their early stages in these countries. They face additional challenges related to economic, cultural and basic infrastructure issues. This research investigates the organisational and national context within which ERP is adopted and used in Kenya, and how the context and ERP influence each other. In general, this research is based on the need to study organisations in their societal contexts and information systems in their organisational settings.
The research contributes to the controversial debate on the conflict between standardisation imposed by ERP systems and localisation of business practices. This study provides some key insights into the implementation and use of ERP systems in the public and the private sectors in Kenya. Case study findings suggest that the company sector plays an important role in ERP implementations in several key dimensions. ERP systems with in-built business practices express the tendency toward standardisation. In addition, the study investigates the challenges faced by organisations implementing ERP systems in Kenya and factors influencing ERP upgrade decisions. Findings of this research suggest that ERP implementation and upgrade is influenced by, but not necessarily bound by, existing contextual factors - national and organisational. Two models, namely, the Empirical ERP Implementation Model (EEIM) and the Upgrade Decision Model (UDM), are developed to represent ERP implementation and upgrade practices. The EEIM helps to identify why there will be particularly high variance in potential outcomes and further validates which organisational contexts and ERP implementation configurations create options during ERP implementation and usage. The UDM makes a novel contribution by showing how different forces interact to bring an aggregate of influences to a threshold level where an ERP system upgrade becomes necessary.
The findings of this study also aid the management of organisations that are implementing
ERP systems to gain a better understanding of the likely challenges they may face and to enable them to put in place appropriate measures to mitigate the risk of implementation
failures. This study also proposes an IT strategy framework which can be used by organisations planning to implement ERP to align their business and IT strategy. Finally, the study provides practical guidelines to practitioners on ERP implementation and upgrade based on the experience of the case study organisations and the ERP consultants interviewed.

A thesis submitted to the School of Engineering and Information Sciences, Middlesex University in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.