Organizational work with enterprise systems: a double agency perspective

Enterprise Systems are used by most large, and also by some small-medium enterprises, as tools to streamline internal and external activities. Installation of an Enterprise System usually entails changes in the organization, in terms of updating or rewriting business processes to match the ones inscribed in the Enterprise System. Consequently, the work of managers and employees in the organization changes accordingly. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of work that is afforded by an Enterprise System, according to the intentions of managers and users. In particular, the way that managers and employees interact with the Enterprise System and the issues that arise from this interaction are explored. The paper proposes a theoretical conceptualisation for the dynamic interaction between users, management, and the Enterprise System.