Abstract

In spite of a wealth of studies on ERP adoption in recent years, prior studies have presumed ERP adoption as an immediate action rather than as a process. We also argue that cross-sectional research design does not adequately represent the complexity and the highly volatile nature of the process of ERP adoption. Based on a content analysis of one hundred studies on academic and vendor successes, we have identified 27 transition factors contributing to the adoption of cloud ERP. Building on two process research studies (Guttman et al. 1998; Klein and Sorra 1996), this research attempts to explore which transition factors are relevant to the distinct phases of cloud ERP adoption. These transition factors are classified as “necessary” or “sufficient”; where “necessary” transition factors need to exist in order for the firm to move to the next stage, while “sufficient” means assisting in the movement. This paper not only consolidates, but also extends the existing literature on the technology adoption process for complex organization-wide technologies. For practitioners, this study will assist ERP and cloud vendors in prioritizing and upgrading their business quality at any point in time during the adoption process, which would thus increase the likelihood of cloud-based ERP adoption among SMEs.

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