ERP-system kan vara väldigt komplexa att implementera i organisationer. Det är en utmaning som funnits med sedan lång tid tillbaka, där ERP-implementeringar misslyckas delvis på grund av bristande strategier. Teknologin utvecklas och därmed måste organisationerna hänga med i den utvecklingen när det gäller system. Alla organisationer är annorlunda och kräver därför olika lösningar. Detta kan medföra risker och problem under processens gång för att nå ett lyckat resultat. I denna studie undersöks det vilka strategier som är användbara under planeringsfasen för att minimera risker vid utrullning av ett globalt ERP-system. Syftet är att utvärdera strategier och risker i planeringsfasen där det är bristande tidigare forskning. Det anses inte som den viktigaste delen vid systembyten men är en betydande faktor för ett lyckat resultat. Fallstudien lägger fokus på ett globalt projekt där förberedelsefasen av en ERP-utrullning pågår. Datainsamlingen består av dokument från organisationen samt intervjuer av fyra olika nyckel-personer inom projektet. Slutsatsen i uppsatsen påvisar att det är avgörande att tidigt i projektet definiera strategin över strukturerade processer för att hantera risker. Två strategier som anses avgörande för att ett projekt ska bli lyckat är kommunikation och toppledningsstöd. Toppledningsstödet är väldigt viktigt i ett globalt projekt, men det medför även risker inom kommunikation och detaljplanering om det inte appliceras korrekt. / ERP systems can be very complex to implement in organizations. This is a challenge that has existed for a long time, where ERP implementations fail to a large extent, partly due to a lack of strategies. Technology is evolving, and thus organizations must keep up with that development when it comes to systems. All organizations are different and therefore require different solutions. This can entail risks and problems during the process to achieve a successful result. This study examines which strategies are useful during the planning phase to minimize risks when rolling out a global ERP system. The purpose is to evaluate strategies and risks in the planning phase where there is a lack of previous research. It is not considered the most important part of system changes but is a very important factor for a successful result. The case study focuses on a global project where the preparation phase of an ERP rollout is in progress. The data collection consists of documents from the organization as well as interviews with four different key persons within the project. The conclusion of the thesis shows that it is crucial to define the strategy of structured processes for managing risks early in the project.

[pt] O presente trabalho pretende identificar, descrever e compreender a natureza das principais relações entre tecnologia da informação (TI) e poder, nas organizações que adotam os sistemas ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). Para tal, é preciso adotar uma visão crítica, que dê novo enfoque ao estudo sobre estas relações. No referencial teórico, analisado sob esta perspectiva crítica, o tema poder se configura de forma complexa, não sendo uma mera característica da estrutura organizacional e, com isso, a tecnologia apresenta-se como um de seus instrumentos dentro da organização. Identifica-se o caráter dual do poder, que atua em duas dimensões interdependentes: a dimensão superficial (tomada de decisão, negociação, relacionamento interpessoal, estruturas hierárquicas e delegação de poder) e a dimensão profunda (sistemas de influências, dominação, criação de crenças, símbolos e significados). A pesquisa de campo ilustra tais relações, focando o contexto dos sistemas de informação ERP. Além de gerar grande quantidade de informações para a gestão e tomada de decisão nas empresas, a TI altera a estrutura organizacional. No caso dos ERP, a implantação destes sistemas é extremamente complexa e tende a alterar a estrutura de poder dentro das empresas, desta forma, é possível identificar e descrever diversas relações que envolvem poder e tecnologia. Com este estudo, espera-se poder contribuir com o pensamento administrativo a desenvolver uma visão mais crítica e abrangente sobre sua própria realidade. / [en] The present work intends to identify, describe and understand the nature of the main relationships between information technology (IT) and power, in organizations which adopts ERP systems (Enterprise Resource Planning). To do so, it s necessary to adopt a critic view,witch gives a new approach about these relationships. In the theoretical framework, power is analyzed under this critic perspective, not as a simple characteristic inside the organizationalstructure, and, doing this, technology shows up as one of its instruments inside organizations. It is identified a dual character of power, witch acts on two interdependentdimensions: the superficial dimension (decision-making, negotiating, interpersonal relationship, hierarchical structures and empowerment) and the deep dimension (influence systems, domination, constructing believes, symbols and meanings). The research illustratesthese relationships, focusing the context of ERP information systems. Besides information generation to support management and decision making, IT also changes organizational structure. In ERP cases, this system implementation process is extremely complex and tendsto change power structure inside organizations, so it s possible to identify and describe a great number of relationships involving power and technology. This study wishes to contribute the administrative thinking to develop a more critical and comprehensive view about its own reality.

I takt med den digitaliserade utvecklingen har användning och anskaffning av affärssystem inom företag och organisationer blivit allt vanligare. Orsaken till att företag och organisationer använder affärssystem är för att effektivisera och automatisera sina affärsprocesser och informationsflöde inom företag och organisationer men också för att upprätthålla ett jämnt tempo med sina konkurrenter. Trots att det finns mycket kunskap och medvetenhet om kritiska faktorer för ett framgångsrikt införande av affärssystem, är det fortfarande nästan 50 procent av alla införandeprojekt som misslyckas första gången.  Kandidatuppsatsens syfte är att identifiera, beskriva och förklara kritiska framgångsfaktorer vid införandet av ett affärssystem, ur ett användar–projektgruppsperspektiv. Metoden för denna kandidatuppsats har varit genom en fallstudie som är baserad på intervjuer utifrån användarens och projektgruppens perspektiv.  De viktigaste slutsatserna från kandidatuppsatsensstudie är att: kommunikation, positiv attityd, korrekt data i affärssystemet och högsta ledningens stöd är kritiska för ett framgångsrikt införande av affärssystem. Kommunikation är en grundläggande faktor som ska komma som en självklarhet inom både projektgruppen och mellan projektgruppen och användarna. Utan kommunikation blir det svårt för projektgruppen att samla in de krav och förväntningar som användarna har. En positiv attityd från främst användarnas sida under införandeprocessen gör det enklare för projektgruppen att driva affärssystemprojektet framåt och motiverar projektgruppen. Korrekt data i affärssystemet är viktigt när användarna börjar använda affärssystemet, Det är viktigt att redan från början skaffa sig ett bra intryck av affärssystemet, vilket kräver att korrekt data ligger i affärssystemet. Stödet från högsta ledningen, som nästan alla forskare identifierar har även identifierats som kritisk i denna studie. Det är viktigt att om projektgruppen består av någon från högsta ledningen, är det viktigt att kunna urskilja sin roll under införandeprocessen, annars kan det ha stor påverkan på införandet av affärssystemet.

ERP system has shaped the way modern organisations design, control, and execute business processes. It has not only paved the way for efficient use of organisational resources but also offered the opportunity to utilise data logged in the system for ensuring internal control. The key contribution of this research is that it has resulted in a method which can practically be employed by internal auditors for measuring internal fraud risk of business organisations with ERP systems, by utilising process mining technique and evidential reasoning in the form of Bayesian theorem, in a much more effective way compared to conventional frequentist method. The other significant contribution is that it has paved the way for combining process mining technique and evidential reasoning in addressing problems prevalent within organisational contexts. This research has contributed in developing IS theories for design and action especially in the area of soft systems methodology as it has relied on business process modelling in addressing the issue of internal fraud risk. The chosen method has contributed in facilitating incorporation of design science method in problem solving. Researchers have focused on applying data mining techniques within organisational contexts for extracting valuable information. Process mining is a comparatively new technique which allows business processes to be analysed based on event logs. Analysis of business processes can be useful for organisations not only for attaining greater efficiency but also for ensuring internal control inside the organisation. Large organisations have various measures in place for ensuring internal control. Measuring the risk of fraud within a business process is an important practice for preventing fraud as accurate measurement of fraud risk provides business experts with the opportunity to comprehend the extent of the problem. Business experts, such as internal auditors, still heavily rely upon conventional methods for measuring internal fraud risk way by of random check of process compliance. Organisations with ERP systems in place can avail themselves of the opportunity to use event logs for extending the scope of assessing process conformance. This has not been put into practice as there is a lack of well researched methods which can allow event logs to be utilised for enhancing internal control. This research can be proved to be useful for practitioners as it has developed a method for measuring internal fraud risk within organisations. This research aimed to utilise process mining technique that allows business experts to exert greater control over business process execution by allowing the internal fraud risk to be measured effectively. A method has been developed for measuring internal fraud risk of business originations with ERP systems by using process mining and Bayesian theorem. In this method, rate of process deviation is calculated by conducting process mining on relevant logs of events and then that process deviation rate is applied in Bayesian theorem along with historic internal fraud risk rate and process deviation rate calculated manually for arriving at a revised internal fraud risk rate. Bayesian theorem has been relied upon for the purpose of developing this new method as it allows evidential reasoning to be incorporated. The method has been developed as a Design Science Research Method (DSRM) artefact by conducting three case-studies. Data has been collected from three case companies, operating in readymade garments manufacturing industry, pharmaceuticals industry, and aviation industry, regarding their procurement process for conducting process mining. The revised internal fraud risk rates were then evaluated by considering the feedback received from respective business experts of each of the case company. The proposed method is beneficial as it has paved the way for practitioners to utilise process mining using a soft system methodology. The developed method is of immense significance as it has contributed in the field of business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) and the big data analytics which have become significantly important to both academics and practitioners over the past couple of decades.

Organizations experience challenges despite efforts to increase productivity through implementing large-scale enterprise systems. Leaders of local government institutions do not understand how to achieve expected and desired benefits from the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Lack of alignment between social and technical elements in ERP implementation depresses organizational productivity. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine whether social and technical elements increase use and productivity in ERP implementation. The research questions addressed the relationship between ERP and organizational efficiency, cross-functional communication, information sharing, ease of ERP use, and ERP usefulness. Sociotechnical systems theory provided the theoretical basis for the study. Data were collected from online surveys completed by 61 ERP users and analyzed using Wilcoxon matched pairs statistics and Spearman's correlation coefficient. Findings indicated a positive significant relationship between ERP and information sharing, a positive significant relationship between ERP system quality and ease of ERP use, and a positive significant relationship between ERP system quality and organizational productivity. Findings may be used by local government leaders, technology managers, and chief information officers to ensure ERP sustainability and increase productivity.

Nous étudions le rôle du progiciel de gestion intégré (l’ERP), comme outil de gestion des firmes multinationales, dans le suivi de la performance de la filiale par le siège. Nous avons opté pour un raisonnement hypothético-déductif exploitant les constats théoriques pour sortir des hypothèses que nous avons testées auprès de filiales installées au Maroc et dotées de solutions ERP. Nous avons observé les apports des ERP pour le suivi des types de performances des filiales dans le cadre d’une posture positiviste. Afin de mieux contextualiser et opérationnaliser les concepts de notre étude, nous nous sommes basés sur la complémentarité des approches qualitative/quantitative. Les résultats qualitatifs, générés de six entretiens semi-directifs auprès de responsables des filiales, nous ont permis de confirmer les items composant le questionnaire d’enquête, que nous avons soumis à 104 filiales, dans le cadre d’une étude quantitative. Bien que les filiales peuvent bénéficier d’une autonomie de gestion, les sièges appliquent leur pouvoir et imposent leur vision stratégique en intervenant dans l’exploitation de l’ERP. L’ERP agit sur la gestion de la relation siège-filiale en unifiant les données, en fluidifiant la coordination et la collaboration, en facilitant le contrôle du budget et le suivi des objectifs. Gain de temps, facilité d’utilisation, traçabilité, disponibilité et échange facile de données sont des qualités de l’ERP mises en avant. La qualité technique de l’ERP n’est pas totalement exploitée, vu l’adaptation difficile aux fonctionnalités de l’outil. Pour autant, afin de suivre la performance de leurs filiales, les sièges utilisent de manière assez importante les indicateurs financiers provenant de leur ERP pour le reporting concernant les fonctions vente, gestion des stocks et achat. En revanche, le suivi de la performance non financière est assez peu présent. / This study seeks to shed the light on the role of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) as a management tool adopted by multinational corporations in their monitoring of the headquarters/ subsidiary performance. We have opted for a deductive approach, focusing on multinational corporations whose subsidiaries are based in Morocco and which are endowed with the ERP tool. To meet this end, we have carried out both a qualitative and a quantitative study. Qualitatively, the six semi directive interviews conducted with the subsidiaries management fit in harmoniously with the items that figure in our questionnaire, submitted to 104 subsidiaries in the framework of a quantitative study. We have found out that even if subsidiaries benefit from autonomy as far as management is concerned, the headquarters still impose the strategic vision and intervene at how ERP must be implemented. Indeed, ERP acts positively on the headquarters/subsidiary relationship by rendering data even, making coordination fluid and facilitating budget control and goals follow- up. Other merits that the ERP tool offers include: time saving, ease of use, tracking, availability and easy data exchange. Nevertheless, ERP has not been fully utilized due to the difficulty of matching its features. Basically, head offices make use of ERP in evaluating financial performance, namely reporting sales and inventory management. Otherwise, it remains less operational.

With the proliferation of Internet, ERP systems like all the domains of Information Technology have known an important evolution. This final thesis project is a study about the evolution of ERP systems, more precisely about their migration to the Web giving birth to a new generation of systems: the Web-Based or Web-enabled ERP systems. This migration to the Web is justified by the difficulty of making possible the communication between partner’s legacy systems and the organizations’ ERP systems. A historical evolution of these systems is presented in order to understand the reasons that lead vendors to adopt the Web Service Technology. Based on different studies, the main technologies such as Web services, Service-Oriented Architecture and Web Application server are also presented. From an interpretative research approach mySAP ERP has been chosen as a case study. This Master’s thesis has been led into AIRBUS France Company within the framework of the SAP Customer Competence Center (SAPCCC) Web site project. The project is aimed at re-building the SAPCCC Web site. The new characteristic of the Web site is to make it accessible by all AIRBUS partners working with SAP applications. To make the Web site accessible by the partners from their own applications located on their own platforms the development has been done thanks to mySAP ERP which is an ERP using the Web service technology. Finally, this thesis presents a comparative study between traditional ERP systems and the new generation of Web-based ERP systems.

The global business environment has changed dramatically in recent years, as competition in complex knowledge-based economies has increased. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have been viewed as a way to manage increased business complexity, leading to the rapid adoption and implementation of such systems, as ERP can support enterprises to improve their competitiveness. Knowledge management (KM) is crucial for ERP systems implementation, however a highly demanding task. Therefore, the primary concern of this research is to examine the effectiveness of knowledge management activities that would contribute to achieve ERP implementation success. This study adopted mixed methods approach by combining semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire to collect empirical data from ERP professionals in both manufacturing and service sector organisations. In the qualitative phase, it develops the “framework of integrative knowledge” based on empirical evidence, that can improve KM competence for ERP implementation success. Data analysis has been undertaken using a combination of thematic analysis and comparative analysis with respect to 14 ERP implementations in the UK. The framework integrates multiple perspectives in terms of knowledge components to enhance KM competence, including knowledge types, knowledge layers, KM lifecycle and knowledge determinants. It discovered 19 knowledge determinants to drive knowledge management activities during ERP projects, which is another vital contribution to the existing knowledge. Furthermore, the study develops the “knowledge network model” for ERP implementations in order to facilitate the knowledge flows between various stakeholders involved in ERP implementations, which can help to understand the interactions between the knowledge components. Moreover, sub-knowledge types (knowledge elements) under each knowledge type were discovered through empirical evidence. The quantitative phase was adopted to extend the findings of the qualitative phase. The knowledge types and knowledge elements were prioritised using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method through an online AHP based questionnaire with 77 responses from ERP professionals involved in UK ERP implementations. Furthermore, knowledge prioritisation demonstrates how effectively the framework of integrative knowledge can be used during ERP implementations with the help of prioritised knowledge. In total 4 knowledge types and 21 knowledge elements were ranked based on their contribution to achieve ERP success; four variables of information quality, systems quality, individual impact and organisational impact were used to measure ERP success. This study has number of theoretical contributions including framework of integrative knowledge, knowledge network model for ERP implementations and ERP knowledge prioritisation. Moreover, the framework of integrative knowledge can provide ERP practitioners with useful guidance on what the key knowledge determinants are and how the relationships between knowledge components should be best managed to achieve ERP implementation success in business reality.

This diploma thesis deals with ERP systems and web information systems such as ERP. The theoretical part describes the historical development of information systems and the inclusion of web information systems in the context of historical development. Analysis of existing ERP systems is followed by a section dealing with the current coverage of business processes by ERP systems and general recomended criteria for choosing information systems. The practical part contains a survey of perceptions of web information by organizations. The survey is conducted using questionnaires, which were interviewed randomly selected medium-sized and small organizations. The second part contains a comparison of classical information systems such as ERP with thick client with a web information system with thin client. These systems are compared using a multi-criteria analysis.

Användandet av affärssystem är idag utbrett bland såväl stora som små företag. Implementeringen av dessa system är dock ofta kostsamma och komplexa processer, vilka historiskt sett har krävt god och relevant kunskap hos företaget. Som en följd av den ökade digitaliseringen i samhället har dock en modernisering av affärssystem skett vilket inneburit en övergång mot molnbaserade affärssystem. Med molnbaserade affärssystem erbjuds ofta snabbare och mer effektiva implementeringar och förenklat underhåll av affärssystem. Dessa molnbaserade lösningar medför även nya risker, hot och möjligheter vilka påverkar hur krav kan och bör ställas på affärssystem samt vilken kravställning som är relevant. Denna studies frågeställning, Hur påverkar utvecklingen mot alltmer molnbaserade affärssystem de krav som kunder ställer på affärssystemleverantörer?, ämnar fylla detta upplevda kunskapsgap inom området. Molnbaserade affärssystem erbjuder en rad möjligheter men även utmaningar och potentiella risker. Följaktligen är en djupare förståelse för dessa aspekter potentiellt viktig för att affärsystemleverantörer ska kunna möta kundernas behov och krav i en ständigt föränderlig marknad. För att besvara frågeställningen gjordes en kartläggning där fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med personer som innehar lång erfarenhet inom området. Intervjuerna analyserades sedan med hjälp av tematisk analys och resulterade i sex övergripande teman och 14 underteman. Resultatet visar att de krav som kunder ställer på leverantörer till viss del har följt utvecklingen mot molnbaserade system. Kunderna tycks ha börjat inse värdet i standardleveranser med lägre grad av anpassning och även att de, som en följd av utvecklingen, måste ställa nya sorters säkerhets- och dataåtkomstrelaterade krav. Likväl visar resultatet även att kunderna, trots nämnda kravanpassning, till stor del fortsätter att ställa samma typ av krav som ställdes vid implementering av on-prem-lösningar. Därtill saknar kunderna förståelse för hur molnbaserade affärssystem skiljer sig mot on-premlösningarna gällande såväl säkerhet som möjlighet till anpassning, vilket påverkar kvaliteten och relevansen i deras kravställning. / Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are widely used by both large and small businesses. Still, the adoption of these systems can be a costly and difficult process that has traditionally demanded appropriate and adequate knowledge within the organization. Nonetheless, as a consequence of growing societal digitalization, a modernization of ERP systems has ensued, resulting in a shift toward cloudbased ERP systems. Cloud-based ERP systems typically provide faster and more efficient implementation and maintenance. The cloud-based solutions also introduce new risks, vulnerabilities, and possibilities that influence how and where requirements may and should be imposed on business systems, as well as which requirements are applicable. As such, the research question of this study, How does the transition towards an increasing use of cloud-based business systems affect the requirements that customers place on business system suppliers?, aims to analyze how the shift toward cloud-based business systems affects the demands and requirements imposed upon them. A better grasp of these factors intends to be of help to ERP system suppliers in order to match customer requirements and desires in an ever-changing market. To address the research question a survey was conducted and five semi-structured interviews with individuals with substantial knowledge in the subject were undertaken. Thematic analysis was used to examine the interviews, which yielded six overarching themes and 14 sub-themes. The results suggest that the requirements on suppliers have followed the trend towards cloud-based solutions to some extent. Customers appear to have begun to appreciate the benefits of standardized deliveries with a reduced degree of customization as well as the fact that, as a result of the development, they must define new types of security and data access requirements. Yet, the analysis revealed that despite the aforementioned requirement adaptation, clients keep setting the same kind of expectations that they did when implementing on-premise ERP systems. Moreover, customers lack an understanding of how cloud-based ERP systems vary from on-premise solutions in terms of security and adaptability, which is not necessarily represented in their requirements.