Evaluating the impact of ERP systems in higher education

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impacts of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems on user performance (UP) in higher education institutions with a view to better understanding the ERP phenomenon in these institutions, and to determine whether or not these systems work well in such a complex environment. Design/methodology/approach -A quantitative methodology was used in this study and data were collected by means of a written questionnaire. Measurement items used in the operationalization of the study instrument were adopted from relevant prior research. Findings -The findings indicated that system quality, task technology fit and information quality are the most important factors that lead to better end UP. The provides evidence of the appropriateness of extending IS models as a useful way to give more powerful insights into user aspects and system impact.Research limitations/implications -Although the study factors explained a large portion of the variance in UP, there is a part of the variance that still remains unexplained. Practical implications -Vendors and designers must consider user needs and concerns in the design of ERP packages. Understanding user characteristics and their interaction will lead to better benefits. For example, if ERP users are predominantly individuals with little computer experience, the system designers should invest more in making the systems easier to use to facilitate more system impacts and benefits. Originality/value -There has been a general lack of awareness about the importance of evaluating ERP systems from a user perspective. Rather, the main focus of previous studies was either on critical factors and implementation issues and/or on user acceptance and satisfaction. This study underscores the importance of this issue and presents some insights into the benefits of ERP systems in higher education by taking lessons from IS theory in general.

Conceptual Framework for Developing an ERP Module for Quality Management and Academic Accreditation at Higher Education Institutions: The Case of Saudi Arabia

“…)‖ [10]. Higher education institutions as one of important sectors around the worlds have been influenced by global trends to adopt new technologies aim to improve the performance and efficiency [1]. Universities have relied heavily on information systems for several years, while increased attention has been given to ERP systems to cover organizational activities and processes and ensure their integration, with the aim of achieving significant cost savings as well as improving performance and results and an opportunity to update procedures and align them with perceived 'best practices' [2].…”

“…On the other hand, University ERP system provides the instruments to support the governance processes, providing the data and analysis necessary for strategic planning and control which enable the strong development area for the university to represent high delivery of services for students, teachers, researchers and community demands [3]. University ERP systems can provide academic and non-academic entities including colleges and departments with completely functional applications [1] [11] which enable users to access students' information, academic records, and other data needed to complete their daily work [12], this accessibility and availability will improve business processes and services provided to the faculty, students, and employees [13]. [14].…”

“…Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are widely used by public and private organization. ERP consists of integrated application software modules aims to integrate all business processes and functions in a central database to improve productivity, quality and competitiveness for the organization, in addition to the ability of the ERP system to deal with a rapidly changing environment and overcome the limitations of legacy systems [1]. Recently, universities around the world have begun to move to ERP instead of having multiple management and organizational information systems at the university that may not be well interconnected, hindering inter-departmental processes [2].…”

“…The accreditation is not easy process from the perspective of most faculty members as they have the misconception that it is an exhausting time consuming, not to say complex and unnecessary process [7], and there are some challenges, such as how Little research has been conducted on ERP implementations in universities compared to other environments [1] [5]. Previous research has addressed the characteristics and components of ERP systems that are appropriate to the environment of educational organizations, especially universities, such as the use of ERP systems in the process of learning, teaching and classroom organization [8].…”

Cultural change through the implementation of an enterprise system

“…This, they argue, is a gap in the literature as the studies explored in their work do not provide sufficient rich insight into the implementation process or how an ES might influence or contribute to a culture change. More specifically, Abugabah et al (2015) claim that little research has been conducted on ES implementations in universities compared to other sectors. Despite huge amounts being invested on ES, current studies indicate that adopting organizations do not realise the expected benefits from the deployments of such systems and these complex systems do not seem to be as effective as anticipated (Ifinedo, 2011).…”