Organizational transition to enterprise resource planning systems: theoretical choices for process research

The number of organizations implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solutions is rapidly increasing. Transition to ERP systems is often combined with a business process reengineering effort and intended to produce radical organizational change. Prior to conducting research on ERP transition, researchers need to become aware of the theoretical choices available to guide their studies. In this paper, three dimensions of process theories used to explain organizational change are identified: form, motor, and theoretical content. Whereas form deals mainly with the amount and frequency of change, motor refers to the mechanisms explaining how and why change unfolds, and theoretical content consists of specific constructs and their interactions that produce change. In order to make complete theoretical choices, researchers should consider all three dimensions of change in the design of their research. The three dimensions are combined in a framework that can guide research on ERP-related organizational transition.