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Similarly, a closer and direct reporting re-
lationship between top management and the IT
manager who would rank the IT manager (and
the IT function) at a senior position can provide
him/her with more authority and influence in the
organization (Law and Ngai, 2007). By being at
a senior position, the IT manager may be seen by
other managers as a senior executive. This can
facilitate the execution of the IT manager's recom-
mendations about the system. Correspondingly, as
a senior executive, the IT manager can participate
at the firm's strategic planning, thus improving
the strategic alignment between the organiza-
tion's strategy and the system. Equally, the close
and direct relationship with the top management
cannot only help the IT manager influence the top
management perceptions about the system, but it
can also make him/her gain their support for an
active intervention and promotion of the system
assimilation. Successfully handling top manage-
ment perceptions about the system are, however,
highly dependent on the IT manager's persuasion
skills and personal appeal (Law and Ngai, 2007).
Furthermore, our study stresses the importance
of the personal traits of managers and users, such
as level of curiosity, computer literacy, personal
innovativeness with IT, age, seniority, education
level, etc., in promoting or hindering system as-
similation. Therefore, organizations should invest
heavily in time and effort to manage carefully
and properly the human factor. This can be real-
ized through several initiatives such as effective
post-implementation training, communication and
education, appropriate user support and reward
systems, ERP communities of practice which al-
low users to exchange experiences and improve
the existing system.
As far as the impact of the environmental
context is concerned, regulatory pressures, trading
partners' pressures, and consultants' effectiveness
were the main external factors identified in this
research as factors influencing ERP assimilation.
Comparing the two groups of companies in
the two contexts showed several commonalities
in success factors and issues which, by and large,
were related to the stabilization periods almost all
companies were going through with the exception
of Company A which exhibited a higher level of
assimilation than all other companies. This is
true of all success factors which were identified,
as well as the great majority of ERP assimilation
impediments. Yet, there are some issues which
were more apparent in the Tunisian company C
than in the other companies. These include the
persistent reluctance of several mangers to com-
mit themselves to the system, power and interests
conflicts between middle managers and the IT
manager, the tendency to use seniority more than
skills as an indicator of qualification, and the high
competitiveness between managers. Conversely,
these problems were inexistent in the medium
sized subsidiary of the multinational company,
which was also at a stabilization stage but of a
second ERP project. Indeed, similar to company A,
this subsidiary enjoyed an organizational culture
based on consultation and openness to innovations
in general and technological ones in particular.
Major contributions
Given the relatively limited research on post-
implementation issues and ERP assimilation,
we used an exploratory qualitative approach.
Drawing on information and insights we gained
from the qualitative study during which we in-
terviewed managers with varied responsibilities
in six manufacturing organizations, we added to
ERP research namely by identifying the facilita-
tors of a successful ERP assimilation. Another
major contribution is the discovery of several
impediments which may slow or even hamper the
effective assimilation process in both contexts.
Similarly, we contributed to research by propos-
ing an integrative framework which illustrates
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