Efficiency of implementations of integrated Enterprise Systems in the public sector

Aim of the project   The objective of this research is to examine Enterprise Systems implementations in the public sector.Enterprise Systems are application software packages that support multiple organizational functions and could replace many separate, departmental application systems. However, they are large and complex which means that their implementation is not straightforward. Many Enterprise System implementation projects run over budget and time, and often when they are finally implemented they deliver much less than expected.

Enterprise Systems are also implemented in the public sector which is the part of an economy that provides various services to citizens. Economies are dependent on the public sector and a strong, effective and efficient public sector is a fundament for healthy progress in society and socioeconomic development. Despite the importance of the public sector to the economy and the fact that many organizations in the public sector implement Enterprise Systems, there is not much research and not many publications which focus on this topic. In addition, a large portion of the existing publications consists of practitioner reports that hardly use theoretical lenses to explain the topic. Most importantly, the existing literature repository fails to provide clear and useful directions regarding Enterprise Systems implementations in the public sector.

Therefore, this research will focus on the implementations of Enterprise Systems in the public sector and examine the topic using interviews and survey among employees, managers, and other decision makers in the public sector who have first-hand experience with implementation of Enterprise Systems. It is expected that this research will help make implementations less time consuming, less costly and less burdening overall. It will provide people who are involved with Enterprise System implementations in the public sector with a route map, which will guide them through the implementation process. This research will also seek to develop a performance measurement system to assess implementation success. Such a system will help in self-evaluation, allow comparison and help in continuous improvement.

Project impact

The outcome of this research project will be an academic paper published in a high-quality international journal. It is also planned that the results will be presented at an international conference. This paper will contain guidance and recommendations for employees, managers and other decisionmakers in the public sector.