310 Int. J. Management and Enterprise Development, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2008 Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. To ERP or not to ERP? Factors influencing the adoption decision Liane Elbertsen* Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands 19, Allée des Poiriers, Luxemburg L-2360, G.D. Luxemburg Fax: +352-264-23233 E-mail: liane.elbertsen@accenture.com *Corresponding author Rik van Reekum Centre for Business Studies, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9520, RA Leiden NL-2300, The Netherlands E-mail: a.h.vanreekum@law.leidenuniv.nl Abstract: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have mainly been discussed concerning their implementation. A theory-driven, quantitative approach to ERP adoption is rare, especially for Midsized Enterprises (MEs). This paper aims to fill this gap by identifying factors in the areas of technology, organisation and environment, generally known to be part of such managerial decision-making. Nine hypotheses have been derived from literature and tested among Dutch MEs in the electrical, engineering and metal industries. The results of our empirical study show that ERP adoption by MEs is most significantly explained by competitive pressure and the compatibility of the software configuration with the firm’s business processes. Keywords: Enterprise Resource Planning; ERP; Information Technology; IT; innovation; adoption; decision-making; IT investment; Midsized Enterprises; MEs. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Elbertsen, L. and van Reekum, R. (2008) ‘To ERP or not to ERP? Factors influencing the adoption decision’, Int. J. Management and Enterprise Development, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp.310–330. Biographical notes: Liane Elbertsen works at Accenture as a Consultant in the workgroup System Integration and Technology. She received an MSc in Business Administration from the Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University in The Netherlands. Rik van Reekum works as a Lecturer at the Centre for Business Studies of the Faculty of Law, Leiden University. Previously, he worked as a Consultant at the Institute of Strategy, Technology and Policy of the Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). He received an MSc and a PhD in