Understanding the link between organizational learning capability and ERP system usage: An empirical examination Joseph Nwankpa a,⇑ , Yaman Roumani b a Department of Computer Information Systems & Quantitative Methods, College of Business Administration, The University of Texas-Pan American, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, TX 78539-2999, United States b Department of Computer Information Systems, College of Business, Eastern Michigan University, 473 Gary Owen Building Ypsilanti, MI 48197, United States article info Article history: Available online 14 February 2014 Keywords: ERP system usage Organizational learning capability User satisfaction abstract Although significant research attention has been directed at understanding ERP system adoption and deployment, very little attention has been paid to understanding ERP system usage among these adopting firms. This paper seeks to fill this void. We examine the concept of organizational learning capability (OLC), defined by dimensions of managerial commitment, systems perspective, openness and experimen- tation and transfer and integration to understand how firms can appropriate ERP systems to capture their potential benefits. Specifically, we examine the impact of OLC on ERP systems usage. We also incorporate the concept of user satisfaction to argue that OLC has an indirect effect on user satisfaction as well as a direct effect on ERP system usage. The empirical results show that OLC has a positive effect on user sat- isfaction. Besides, managerial commitment was found to have a positive effect on both user satisfaction and ERP system usage. Finally, user satisfaction was found to be a strong predictor of ERP system usage. Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In today’s volatile and competitive business environment, firms must be able to effectively capitalize on its existing IT infrastruc- ture. As organizations continue to invest in ERP systems, expecta- tions are that such systems would boost performance and generate value in an increasingly competitive and aggressive business envi- ronment. Many firms have been quite successful with their ERP implementation driving down cost, improving operational effi- ciency and organizational reaching changes (Hebert & Oppenheim, 2004; Jones, Zmud, & Thomas, 2008; Nwankpa et al., 2013; Thibodeau, 2004). The success of an ERP system is partially depen- dent on the extent of usage by end-users within the firm (Boudreau & Robey, 1999). The more the usage by the intended users at differ- ent levels in the company, the greater the likelihood that such a firm will gain competitive advantage which is one of the key goals of deploying an ERP system. Therein lies the problem where users can only effectively utilize the system if they have the required knowledge and skills or at least if they have an organizational structure that fosters learning and nurtures understanding of the ERP system. Studies have revealed that the major reason for lim- ited usage of ERP systems is because end users have inadequate understanding of the system (Soh, Kien, & Tay-Yap, 2000). Poor understanding of ERP systems may cause users to create and reen- act workarounds (Markus & Tanis, 2000). These workarounds can continue indefinitely thereby limiting effective ERP use and assim- ilation (Liang, Saraf, Hu, & Xue, 2007). For instance, Boudreau and Robey (2001) note how a state university continued to maintain a parallel shadow system and how users found it difficult to migrate to from the university’s legacy system after ERP implementation. Given that ERP systems by nature are complex, it is therefore vital that organizations establish a framework that facilitates learning as users interact and use the system. Most ERP adoption papers have acknowledged the problems with ERP system usage and have highlighted the importance of learning in the successful implementation of new technologies. Elbertsen, Benders, and Nijssen (2006) found that ERP system users tend to limit ERP use and typically use other information systems for discretionary task routines while Kwahk and Ahn (2010) argued that the inability of the global ERP packages to readily address specific functional needs of end-users limited its usage. Given that ERP system implementations create new learning curves, different employees’ responsibility and requires new sets of skills (Amoako-Gyampah & Salam, 2004), promoting learning is essential for organizations. However, understanding how organizational learning capability influences ERP usage has been largely ignored. While it is important to investigate individual level factors related to ERP adoption, what is lacking in the literature is a description of http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.01.030 0747-5632/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 9566652801; fax: +1 9566653367. E-mail addresses: nwankpajk@utpa.edu (J. Nwankpa), yroumani@emich.edu (Y. Roumani). Computers in Human Behavior 33 (2014) 224–234 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh