Knowledge identification, categorisation and prioritisation for ERP implementation success

The global business environment has changed dramatically in recent years, as competition in complex knowledge-based economies has increased. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have been viewed as a way to manage increased business complexity, leading to the rapid adoption and implementation of such systems, as ERP can support enterprises to improve their competitiveness. Knowledge management (KM) is crucial for ERP systems implementation, however a highly demanding task. Therefore, the primary concern of this study is to examine the effectiveness of knowledge identification, categorisation and prioritisation that would contribute to achieve ERP implementation success.
Initially, in-depth interviews were conducted with ERP professionals in order to identify and categorise knowledge related to ERP implementations. Subsequently, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based online questionnaire was developed and used to prioritise knowledge types and sub-types. This study has been able to rank various types of ERP knowledge based on the survey responses from both ERP clients and implementation partners. In total 4 knowledge types and 21 sub-types were ranked based on their contribution to achieve ERP success; four variables of information quality, systems quality, individual impact and organisational impact were used to measure ERP success. Thereby, empirical findings demonstrate exactly what kinds of knowledge which need to be managed providing priority over other knowledge when a client organisation steps into an ERP implementation as well as an implementation partner steps into an ERP implementation. ERP knowledge prioritisation is a new concept for the context of ERP implementation.