Hd28 .m414 Implementation Politics: Top Management Support and User Involvement -12- the Power Dissonance Explanation of Resistance

The 3PA system is an Intriguiging study in implementation failure and success. The Production Planning and Profit Analysis system was introduced into two manufacturing plants in the same division of a company. It was readily accepted in one plant and staunchly resisted in the other, in spite of repeated managerial interventions. Eventually, however, the resisting plant gave in and began using the system. What makes this case especially interesting is that top management clearly supported the system and gave both plants the opportunity to participate in the design process; conventional wisdom, therefore, helps little to explain the early resistance in one plant. While It is true that the resisting plant did not avail itself of the proffered participation opportunity, analysis of the case data through a political perspective indicates that the lack of participation is not so much a cause of the resistance observed, but a reflection of the political situation in the company to which the resistance is more appropriately attributed. This paper describes the political perspective, applies it to the 3PA case and draws some implications for practicing system designers and Imple-