Driving change management strategy in ERP implementation project

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to give a holistic approach to change management in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation project. This concept is not only involved in changing a core information system and associated operational processes, but it also goes hand in hand with people and technology processes. The thesis discussed the on-going and forthcoming trends, which are reshaping the organization for their competitive advantages or even to the businesses’ survival in this harsh economic battle. Ultimately, the thesis fulfilled the question of how to identify and drive change management strategy in an ERP implementation project successfully.

The theoretical part covered change management concept and its definition in the ERP world. In addition, this study addressed factors influencing change management, namely resistance, readiness, communication, and action plan. The theoretical part of this thesis bunched everything together and explained why change management could only deliver its best value once those elements are harmonized on the right level and at the right time. Besides, the thesis has evaluated the selected change models for a clearer approach.

A qualitative research methodology was adopted to reach the objective of this thesis. The thesis key informant was a digital transformation consultant. With his broad experience of helping organizations with change management while implementing the ERP system, it was promising for us to be guided systematically and receive a high-quality dataset.

The thesis is considered a first-hand document for readers who do not need to have prior knowledge and want to gain insights into change management for ERP implementation. Leaders and researchers could use thesis outcomes for their future ERP implementation projects. We, authors of the thesis, got the unique chance putting theory into practice of how the company could manage to make the ERP implementation project fruitful despite the complexity of changes in people, technology, and process.