Emergent Theory for Enterprise Resource Planning Upgrade Decision

This chapter is based on four case studies and the findings are based on three rounds of qualitative data coding. This study finds that the type of business benefits expected to be derived from an ERP upgrade project, and the similarities between a firm and a new ERP system business processes have a strong impact on an ERP upgrade decision. Strategic business benefit has a relatively high impact on the upgrade decision than the managerial and operational business benefits. In contrast, symbols attached to an ERP system and top management supports are not salient factors influencing the ERP upgrade decision. However, based on further analysis of the pattern-matching of cause-effect relationships tested in this study, this research suggests that top management supports are necessary but not a sufficient factor to justify for an ERP upgrade, when there are lack of strategic business benefit incentives and similarity between a firm and a new ERP system business processes. This also indicates that ERP upgrade decisions are made rationally rather than habitually and socially defined.