The Emerald Research Register For This

The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister IJOPM
23,8

850

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0144-3577.htm Implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in small and midsize manufacturing firms
Joseph R. Muscatello
Infiniti Systems Group, Brecksville, Ohio, USA

Michael H. Small
Department of Management, University of the West Indies, Bridgetown,
Barbados, and

Injazz J. Chen
Department of Operations Management and Business Statistics,
College of Business Administration, Cleveland State University,
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Keywords Resource management, Project management, Technology led strategy, Case studies
Abstract Enterprise resource planning systems, if implemented successfully, can bestow impressive strategic, operational and information-related benefits to adopting firms. A failed implementation can often spell financial doom. Currently, most of the information about the failures and successes are based on reports on implementations in large manufacturing and service organizations. But enterprise resource planning vendors are now steadily turning their marketing sights on small and medium-sized manufacturers. The time is ripe for researchers to gather, analyze and disseminate information that will help these firms to implement their projects successfully. This research adopts a multiple case study approach to investigate the implementation process in small and midsize manufacturing firms in the US. The research focuses on implementation activities that foster successful installations and are developed using information gleaned from our field studies of four projects. Avenues for future research are also suggested.

International Journal of Operations &
Production Management
Vol. 23 No. 8, 2003 pp. 850-871 q MCB UP Limited
0144-3577
DOI 10.1108/01443570310486329

Introduction
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems

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