Enterprise resources planning systems impacts: A Delphi study of Australian public sector

The business value of Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP systems), and in general large software implementations, has been extensively debated in both popular press and in the academic literature for over two decades. Organisations invest enormous sums of money and resources in Enterprise Resource Planning systems (and related infrastructure), presumably expecting positive impacts to the organisation and its functions. Some studies have reported large productivity improvements and substantial benefits from ERP systems, while others have reported that ERP systems have not had any bottom-line impact. This paper discusses initial findings from a study that focuses on identifying and assessing important ERP impacts in 23 Australian public sector organizations.

Longitudinal Student Evaluations of a Postgraduate Unit Using Importance-Performance Analysis

The Australian tourism tertiary education sector operates in a competitive and dynamic environment, which necessitates a market orientation to be successful. Academic staff and management in the sector must regularly assess the perceptions of prospective and current students, and monitor the satisfaction levels of current students. This study is concerned with the setting and monitoring of satisfaction levels of current students, reporting the results of three longitudinal investigations of student satisfaction in a postgraduate unit. The study also addresses a limitation of a university’s generic teaching evaluation instrument. Importance-performance analysis (IPA) has been recommended as a simple but effective tool for overcoming the deficiencies of many student evaluation studies, which have generally measured only attribute importance or importance at the end of a semester. IPA was used to compare student expectations of the unit at the beginning of semester with their perceptions of performance ten weeks later. The first stage documented key benchmarks for which amendments to the unit based on student feedback could be evaluated during subsequent teaching periods.

Survey design: Insights from a public sector ERP success story

Research on the impact of Information Systems (IS) reported in both academic literature and popular press has reported confounding results. Some studies have reported encouraging results of IS, while others have reported nil or detrimental results. The contradictory results of these research studies can be partially attributed to the weaknesses in survey instruments. In an attempt to increase the validity of conclusions of IS assessment studies, survey instrument design should follow a rigorous and scientific procedure. This paper illustrates key validity and reliability issues in measuring Information Systems performance, using examples from a study designed to assess Enterprise Resource Planning systems success. The article emphasizes on the importance of the survey method and the theoretical considerations of item derivation, scale development and item evaluation. Examples are provided from the ERP assessment study to supplement the readers understanding of the theoretical concepts of survey design.

Knowledge management for ERP success

The business value of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and in general large software implementations has been extensively debated in both popular press and academic literature for over three decades. Despite the positive motives for adoption, various organizations have reported negative impacts from these large investments. This ‘disconnect’ between large IS investments and firms’ organizational performance may be attributable to the economic transition from an era of competitive advantage based on information to one that is based on Knowledge. This paper discusses the initial findings of a two-phased study that focuses on empirically assessing the impact of knowledge management on the success of Enterprise Resource Planning systems. The research study uses information gathered from twenty-seven public sector organizations in Queensland, Australia. Validation of the a priori model constructs through factor analysis identified two dimensions of knowledge management. Further analysis assessed the comparative differences in perceptions of knowledge management in ERP, across four employment cohorts.