Enterprise Systems and Intraorganizational Interdependence: A Task-Technology Fit Perspective

Enterprise systems have the potential to bring immense benefits to organizations, but are often seen as falling short of that promise. This paper reports an on-going research project that relates the fit between enterprise systems and the nature of intraorganizational workflow interdependencies. Using task-technology fit theory, we propose that enterprise systems are best suited to organizations that possess primarily sequential interdependence between its units. We further contend that managing reciprocal interdependence through enterprise systems provides limited benefits and that managing complex interdependence (e.g., team interdependence) requires other types of systems. Contributions to enterprise system research and practice are discussed.