Beyond ERP Implementation - Enterprise Information Systems Design, Implementation and Management: Organizational Applications - page 236

Figure 1. Research framework

vironmental context factors. The technological
context includes the ERP attributes such as ease
of use and reliability which may have an impact
on the system's assimilation (Hsieh & Wang,
2007) and the IT/ERP expertise. The organiza-
tional context comprises top management support,
strategic alignment, user involvement, absorptive
capacity and reward system. The environmental
context includes the institutional pressures, the
post-implementation vendor support and the
consultants' effectiveness.
The following figure illustrates the research
framework that guided our empirical investiga-
tion. Since our research was primarily exploratory,
we chose not to specify any formal hypothesis
that could act as an impediment to discovering
important insights and new dimensions during
our research.

research method, such as studying a phenomenon
in its natural setting, directly observing causal-
ity relationships, asking follow-up questions for
more extensive, valid and rigorous findings and
insights, and combining evidence and logic to
build, develop or support theories that are not avail-
able using other research methods (Muscatello &
Parente, 2006). ERP systems projects represent a
major undertaking in a firm, often involving all
company departments and processes, requiring
heavy investments of both time and money, and
which could extend over periods ranging from
months to years. All of these factors contribute
to the complexity of the ERP systems initiative.
Consequently, a quantitative methodology would
not allow for an in-depth understanding of the
firm's and the respondents' experiences with the
system.
Four manufacturing companies were chosen:
two in Canada and two in Tunisia. Although this
is a relatively small sample, this is consistent with
other qualitative research samples which have even
used a single (Yin, 2003). Indeed, according to
Patton (2002) “the validity, meaningfulness, and
insights generated from qualitative inquiry have
more to do with the information richness of the
cases selected and the observational/analytical
capabilities of the researcher than with sample
size”(p.245).
In spite of its small size, Tunisia has trans-
formed itself into a newly industrialized and open

MethodoLogY

In order to realize the research objectives and
answer the corresponding research questions, we
opted for an interpretive and exploratory approach.
We also followed the in-depth multiple case study
strategy to have an in-depth understanding of the
experiences of the firms and the interviewees with
the system and to shed light on the particularities
of each ERP experience (Yin, 2003). Indeed, there
are several advantages to using the case study