ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION

How are users involved in enterprise systems implementations? In response, we draw on theories of social structure and use data drawn from a five year study of an enterprise system implementation at medium-sized university (MSU). The analysis of this data focuses on the differences among formal organizational structures, enterprise implementation project structures and the social structural network of ties among those involved in the implementation effort. Doing so helps to highlight the changed relationships between users, product developers, third-party consultants and the internal information systems people. Our findings indicate that users are only loosely connected to the implementation effort and that their involvement is always intermediated by other people (such as internal computing services personnel, managers, vendors and consultants). We also find that the weak tie relations among the members of the enterprise implementation project are important to the overall success of the effort – more successful than are the strong ties links that are more formally valued. Finally, we note that the shape of the social structure reflects the adaptation of the organization to respond to technical uncertainties and issues. That is, the technical issues with an enterprise system implementation are reflected in the social structures of that effort. SOMEONE TELL THE USERS: A SOCIAL-STRUCTURE PERSPECTIVE OF ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION