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factors to the ERP assimilation framework. The
vendor's support, on the other hand, disappeared
from the framework as it was not considered to be
an essential factor for ERP assimilation success.
training and education efforts, and the managers'
and users' perceived usefulness of the system.
Secondly, with time (i.e. time span since the
system was installed), the impact of the human
factor on the degree and effectiveness of ERP
assimilation supersedes the technological factors.
This is chiefly suggestive of the support of top
management which is the key factor behind the
promotion, directly and indirectly, of the pace and
depth of ERP assimilation across the organization.
Suffice it to say that this is very critical especially
during the early post-go-live stage, called also
the shakedown or stabilization stage. Indeed, the
top management's good understanding of the
risks and possible hurdles and complications of
the shakedown down phase—like the possible
performance dip, the low system performance, the
increased requirements for extra expenditures on
overtime labor, consultant services and additional
IT resources— is of capital importance in help-
ing the organization and its employees overcome
that risky period and in setting the grounds for a
successful system assimilation.
This stage is very fragile and its success is
essential for the system's survival and the subse-
quent progressing in the assimilation levels. There
is no question that top management's views of
the system's usefulness and its potential for the
organization, despite the possible (short-term)
difficulties, contribute, for instance, in shaping
the perceptions of both middle management and
users in operational positions and the embedded
organizational culture of the company. These could
be reflected, for example, in their participation or
follow-up of the ERP project's evolvements and
upgrades, their providing of adequate financial
support for system developments, maintenance
and extensions, their alignment of ERP unit
objectives with business objectives. In addition,
there are the clear and focused ERP organization's
strategy, the changing of the reward system and
investing in high quality ERP expertise and in
continuous training and education.
concLusion
While organizations' objectives to implement an
enterprise-wide IS may greatly differ, ultimately
a joint objective can be seen when their system
is effectively assimilated in a given firm for an
eventual achievement of the aspired benefits which
motivated the initial adoption of the system. As a
matter of fact, the increasing worldwide implemen-
tation of ERP systems, along with the high rates
of ineffectively deployed systems, and the high
risks of failure in sustaining long term success,
had all necessitated the investigation of post-
implementation issues and the monitoring of the
effectiveness of how these systems are assimilated.
By mainly providing a deeper understanding of
ERP assimilation, this research positions itself in
the emerging stream of research of ERP systems
and its post-implementation stage in particular.
Based on the results of the case study analysis
of four manufacturing companies in two differ-
ent geographical contexts (a developed country
(Canada) and a developing country (Tunisia)), we
proposed an integrative framework of the facilitat-
ing factors and discussed the impediments of an
effective ERP assimilation.
Our results demonstrate these main findings.
Firstly, one must not ignore the fact that the post-
implementation stage is a tight ring in the ERP
lifecycle. In other words, not only does the degree
of success of the post-implementation process
depend heavily on the quality of the implementa-
tion process, but also it has a significant influence
on the degree of efforts required to promote ERP
assimilation during the post-implementation stage.
This concerns mainly the degree of top manage-
ment commitment and support to the system,
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