Managing User Resistance in Enterprise Systems Implementation

Enterprise systems (ES) impose changes on users in many areas: job content, interpersonal relationships, decision-making approaches, and work status. Change management is critical to successful ES implementation. Top management support, business involvement, communication and training are important factors in managing these changes. However, such high level initiatives do not necessarily enable project managers to address specific reasons for resistance and to plan particular strategies to increase acceptance. By interviewing 12 project managers of more than 40 ES projects, this study tries to delve into the reasons for user resistance, to recognize related user behaviors and actions, and to identify effective strategies to manage these changes involving two types of major users of Enterprise Systems. It is hoped the result will give clear and detailed information on the types of user responses to change and their management.