The Role of Information Systems Resources in ERP Capability Building and Business Process Outcomes

Many enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation projects fail despite huge investments. To explain such failures, we draw on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm to define various dimensions of information systems (IS) resources. Using resource-picking and capability-building arguments, we examine the relationships between IS resources and ERP capabilities to find out whether they have 222 KARIMI, SOMERS, AND BHATTACHERJEE complementary effects on outcomes. Empirical results from a survey of manufacturing firms that recently implemented ERP systems support the hypothesized model. For IS research, this study further develops the complementary and capability-building roles of IS resources, integrates RBV into our current knowledge of ERP implementation, and provides theoretical explanations for when or under what conditions building ERP capabilities has the highest impact on business process outcomes. For IS practice, it emphasizes the importance of IS resources in building ERP capabilities, provides preliminary measures for IS resource dimensions, and demonstrates their impact on firms’ ERP capabilities and consequent business process outcomes.