The business logic and enterprise systems ventures : the enterprise system as a political tool

• Enterprise systems adoption is not just about streamlining processes and improving information flows.Enterprise systems projects are often part of the power struggles within organisations. Systems providerstoday tend to describe systems as tools to achieve efficiency through standardisation and flexibility.In organisations that buy and use the systems, the enterprise systems projects tend to be used tosupport those who advocate standardisation and coordination against those who advocate local customisationand local decision-making. This power struggle is often not openly discussed in the organisations,as the debate tends to focus on the enterprise system, rather than the underlying differences inpreferred business logic and management principles. In this article, I critically examine attitudes toenterprise systems and examples of implementations, to expose the underlying conceptions of businesslogic and management control, and derive a possibly more fruitful approach to conducting enterprisesystems ventures. Perspectives presented by enterprise systems providers, and in less problematisedand more critical case studies, serve as illustrations and as material for the analysis. The examplesare discussed in terms of change management and competing business logics, and the discussion resultsin a suggestion for an approach to enterprise systems ventures that acknowledges the politicaldimensions.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Socio-technical change

Change management

Organisational change

Change practice

Change stories

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)