A Study of Emerging Multi-cultural and Multi-national Issues in Enterprise System Adoption Processes

Previous research has documented that introduction of enterprise systems (ES) is a major undertaking in organizations. Multinational ES implementation adds new dimensions of complexity due to national, cultural, organizational, and technical differences. The paper reports from an ongoing case study on ES deployment in a multinational engineering company, operating in a highly competitive and global industry. The findings illustrate the complexity of multinational ES implementations and how ES is constrained by an installed base of information, systems, organizational structures and practices at various geographical locations, which also evolves over time. The case study exemplifies the need of a long-term perspective on change processes in a multinational context. The findings suggest a need for flexibility built in IS solutions and processes while simultaneously maintaining necessary IT governance, such as establishing an IS governance model with global process owners, information managers and super users actively involved in discussion and negotiation of changes.