Critical success factors for ERP implementation in SMEs

The highly competitive global environment of the last few decades has urged companies to rely on Information Systems (IS) in order to improve customer service, reduce costs and increase productivity. In that direction, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are being used as significant strategic tools that provide competitive advantages and lead to operational excellence. Despite that, ERP implementation projects are complicated, costly and include high failure risks. The present study aims (a) to develop and (b) empirically test a conceptual framework that investigates the factors affecting ERP system effective implementation in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The examination of the conceptual framework was made with the use of a newly-developed structured questionnaire that was distributed to a group of Greek SMEs. After the completion of the research period, 159 usable questionnaires were returned. The reliability and the validity of the questionnaires were thoroughly examined, while research hypotheses were tested using the “Structural Equation Modeling” (SEM) technique. Results offer interesting empirical observations and managerial implications.