ASAC 2005 Toronto, Ontario Shaobo Ji Sprott School of Business Carleton University Qingfei Min School of Management Dalian University of Technology MANAGING ERP IMPLEMENTATION: A CULTURAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT ISSUE The study explored the relationship between critical success factors (CSFs) and ERP implementation success in a non-western cultural and organizational context. The study is designed to answer two research questions: 1. Are CSFs, derived mainly from literatures published in the US and Europe, applicable in different cultural and economic environment? 2. What effects, if any, does cultural and organizational context affect ERP implementation success? Critical success factors (CSFs) for ERP implementation were identified. ERP success was measured by user satisfaction and information system success model. Data showed that ERP implementation success significantly depends on the CSFs and organizational factors moderated the effects of CSFs on ERP implementation success. 1. Introduction Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and related enterprise-wide application of information and communication technologies (ICT) is one of the fastest growing segment of enterprise application software market and the most important development in the business world in the last decade (Davenport, 1998). However, the successful rate of ERP implementation has been low. Researchers have identified and tested, over the past decade, many key factors, commonly known as critical success factors, or CSFs, that affect the success of ERP implementation. For example, the following factors are commonly reported in the literature for being critical for ERP implementation success: top management support and commitment (Davenport, 1998; Esteves and Poster, 2001; Kelly et al., 1999; Summer, 1999), business process reengineering (Al-Mudimigh, et al., 2001; Davenport, 1998; Bingi et al., 1999; Holland et al., 1999), ERP implementation project management (Esteves et al, 2001; Holland et al, 1999; Somers at al., 2001), change management (Davenport, 1998; Kelly et al, 1999; Sumner, 1999), and external support (Bingi et al., 1999; Somers and Nelson, 2001; Willcocks and Sykes, 2002). Since most of the studies were conducted in the context of western, namely, North American and European countries, it is not clear if the CSFs identified are equally applicable to enterprises operating in countries of transitional economies, such as China. Furthermore, it is not clear what, if any, the effects of cultural, economic, and organizational factors on ERP implementation success. This study is designed to explore the relationship between critical success factors (CSFs) and ERP implementation success, in a different context with these questions in mind. 115