The differences between the supplier's and the customer's equality policies and their impact on the result of an IT project

The aim of this study was to find out whether the earlier finding that differences in the customer's and the supplier's equality policies might have an impact on the success of an ERP project could be confirmed simply by comparing answers to three elementary questions with the success of the project. 25 different projects over a period of 22 years were analyzed using the information available in notes and protocols. The available results of an earlier survey were used for 14 of the projects, and finally further information was collected by an e-mail interview with three elementary questions. Although a masculine business culture seems to influence the success of an ERP project, the official and easy-to-see signs of company equality policies, like equal occupations for both men and women, the number of women within management and within the members of board of directors, did not give such reliable signals to be used alone to warn of potential risks in projects. However, when combined with questions concerning the real atmosphere in organizations, these signs might be useful in evaluating the risks.