Adjusting to Mandatory Information Systems: Understanding Individual Adaptation to ERP Systems

Realising the benefits from information technology depends on how the systems are actually used. Although previous information systems (IS) research provides useful models for understanding individual acceptance, there is a limited understanding of the underlying adaptive process related to IS use, particularly in a mandatory context. This study argues that adaptation is a socially constructed process. Informed by the conceptual elements of coping theory, this study proposes an examination of the adaptive behaviours of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems users. The fieldwork will be conducted in three organisations – one private, one public and one multinational – operating in Thailand. The multiple-case study design allows the scrutiny of contrasting patterns in the data. By taking an interpretive grounded theory approach, this study aims at producing an emergent and substantive theory that explains both the adaptive process and the complex interplay of individual and contextual factors that influences adaptive behaviours over time.