Intentions to Adopt Open Source Software ERP Systems - A Case Study of Four Swedish Municipalities

Theoretically, open source software (OSS) seems perfect for public information systems development due to the public sectors' often scarce budget. Especially interesting are information systems (IS) with a large number of users such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems where the license fees for proprietary products are often substantial. Until now however, there are few reports of public organizations actually adopting OSS ERP systems. This study aims to use case study research to increase the understanding of the public sectors' low adoption rate and the factors that impact the intentions to adopt an OSS ERP system. The results indicate that the system's functionality is essential; OSS ERP systems are not perceived as fully developed for large organizations such as municipalities. Neither is the OSS consultancy market considered mature enough. OSS ERP systems are therefore not seen as a realistic alternative to proprietary ERP systems in the studied organizations.