Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate critical success factors (CSFs) for the implementation of an ERP system from a user perspective. Design/methodology/approach: The research was conducted in two successive steps. First, a literature review was conducted to derive CSFs for ERP system implementation. Second, a survey was conducted to evaluate the importance of these CSFs from a user perspective. Data was collected through a questionnaire that was distributed within a German manufacturer and was developed based on the CSFs found in the literature. Grey relational analysis (GRA) was used to rank the CSFs in order of importance from a user perspective. Findings: The findings reveal that users regard eleven of the thirteen CSFs found in the literature as important for ERP system implementation. Seven of the CFSs were classified as the most important from a user perspective including project team, technical possibilities, strategic decision-making, training and education, minimum customization, software testing and performance measurement. Users regarded two of the thirteen CSFs as not important when implementing an ERP system, including organizational change management and top management involvement. Research limitations/implications: One limitation of this study is that the respondents originate from one organization, industry and country. The findings may differ in other contexts and thus future research should be expanded to include more organizations, industries and countries. Another limitation is that this study only evaluates existing CSFs from a user perspective rather than identifying new ones and/or the underlying reasons using more qualitative research. Practical implications: A better understanding of the user perspective towards CSFs for ERP system implementation promises to contribute to the design of more effective ERP systems, a more successful implementation and a more effective operation. When trying to successfully implement an ERP system, the project team may use the insights from the user perspective. Originality/Value: Even though researchers highlight the important role users play during ERP system implementation, their perspective towards the widely discussed CSFs for ERP system implementation has not been investigated comprehensively. This study aims to fill this gap by evaluating CSFs derived from the literature from a user perspective.

Introduction

The supply chain and its management is of major importance in most industries. In essence, it concerns collection and analysis of data to provide better basis for decision-making (Hilletofth & Lättilä, ۲۰۱۲). Information systems are needed to achieve this due to complex supply chain structures and processes (Hilletofth, 2010). One information system that has been crucial in operating and managing supply chains efficiently and effectively is the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system (Hilletofth et al., 2010). The ERP system provides seamless integration of processes across functional areas with improved workflow and standardization as well as access to real-time and up-to-date data (Umble et al., 2003). It has become a fundamental tool in order to remain competitive on both global and local markets (Beheshti & Beheshti, 2010). The implementation of an ERP system is a complex, difficult, costly and time-consuming task (Al-Mashari & Al-Mudimigh, 2003; Xue et al., 2005) and many ERP projects continue fail to meet their original scope, budget and schedule (Huang et al., 2004; Mu et al., 2015). The reasons for failure have been widely discussed in the literature and research concentrates on identifying the conditions that are believed to increase the probability of success of an implementation project (e.g., Chang et al., 2014; Chen et al., 2009; Maguire et al., 2010). These conditions are commonly referred to as critical success factors (CSFs). Understanding these CSFs and how they influence the outcome of the implementation project decreases the risk of failure and provide helpful guidance for organizations (Huang et al., 2004). The existing literature includes many studies on CSFs for ERP system implementation and most originate from the time when ERP system first started to be implemented in the industry. However, research is still being conducted within this specific field due to the constant demand of newer and more advanced systems (Saade & Nijher, 2016). The literature of CSFs for ERP system implementation may be divided into two streams where the first focuses on the adapting organisation itself and the second stream focuses on the network of actors involved during the implementation project. Within the adapting organization stream, researchers focus on four perspectives when discussing CSFs for ERP system implementation (e.g. Chang et al., 2015; Dezdar & Sulaiman, 2009; Maguire et al., 2010; Somers & Nelson, 2001; Sumner, 2000), including the generic, senior manager, project manager and user perspective.