An enterprise resource planning system innovation and its influence on organisational culture: a case study in higher education

Many organisations are adopting new enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to address their organisational and business problems. These technologies may promise utopian visions of information management, yet often they have the potential to re-shape organisational life and bring even more control to the workplace; in some instances outcomes that are unpredictable and detrimental to the organisation. The study of ERPs and their influence on organisational life and culture is a complex and highly contested area of research which has been the subject of much theorising. This paper adds to the debate through a longitudinal case study of an integrated information system implementation undertaken within a large UK university. The system (known as SITS – strategic information technology services) was introduced into a university in 2006 and the focus of the research has been on culture change within the SITS environment. Document analysis, interviews and participant observation were used to collect data. What has emerged from this study is that many current approaches are unable to account for the complexity of cultural studies within an integrated information systems environment. Therefore we have adopted an approach which acknowledges technology’s power to facilitate or constrain, as well as the role that individuals play in the use of technology to organise.