Abstract Customising Industry Standard Computer Systems for Universities: ERP Systems and the University as an ‘Unique ’ Organisation

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are widely used by large corporations around the world. Recently universities have turned to ERP as a means of replacing existing management and administration computer systems. In this article we provide analysis of the rollout of an ERP system, the particular focus being on how the implementation, use, and development of both generic and university specific functionality is mediated and shaped by a fundamental and long standing tension within universities: this is the extent to which higher education institutions are organisations much like any other and the extent to which they are ‘unique’. Our aim is not to resolve the tension in one way or another, but rather to show how similarities and differences are actively constructed and literally brought into being’ during the various phases of the roll-out of the system. The research presented here is primarily based on a participant observation study carried out in one institution in the UK over the period of three years.