Can ERP Adoptions Change Organisational Culture in Developing Countries in Asia? An Empirical Investigation

Little research has been conducted to investigate a possible transformation of organizational culture through western-developed Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in developing countries in Asia. A case study carried out in Sri Lanka found that ERP adoptions along with other appropriate mechanisms can be a catalyst for the transformation of organizational culture. A little over 10 years after going live, the organizational culture that has inhibited the achievement of benefits from the western-developed ERP system is slowly changing at the case organization. Cultural transformation (user-behavior pattern change) in the case company occurred by accepting three out of four user-behavior patterns assumed by the western-developed ERP systems to a noticeable extent. Furthermore, case organization used several mechanisms such as company-wide education programs, phased-out implementation approach, recruiting an increasing number of young professionals to facilitate the transformation process taking place through the ERP adoption. Additionally, from this evidence, it can be deduced that organizational culture may not be static, over time they may be changed through various mechanisms.