ERP IMPLEMENTATION IN PAKISTANI SMES: IDENTIFICATION AND CATEGORIZATION OF CRITICAL FAILURE FACTORS

Abstract

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is considered the strategic backbone of a company, integrating and automating a wide variety of business processes. Nevertheless, implementing ERP systems entails a complex and expensive process with high potential for failure if poorly managed. Many organizations in developing nations have implemented ERP systems to achieve benefits from these investments; however, research into Critical Failure Factors (CFFs) that lead to ERP implementation failure, particularly in Pakistani small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has received less attention. While considerable effort has been made on CFFs and Critical Success Factors (CSFs) separately, and with the majority of the research based on developed economies, little attention to the problems encountered by developing nations. This study aims to address the shortage of research by identifying and studying the CFFs that could lead to the failure of ERP in Pakistani SMEs.

Keywords: Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP Implementation, Critical Failure Factors, Key Critical Failure Factors (KCFFs), Pakistani SMEs