Don’t Lose Your Nerve – ERP Implementation and the J-curve

Summary:
The successful performances of information systems following implementation are rarely linear, and are dependent on stabilizing (complementary) initiatives over and above the traditional structural elements of change (e.g. IS design, training, process redesign, and user and technical support services) in order to recover from organizational shocks (e.g. demand, institutional and productivity shocks). In this study we posit a longitudinal J-curve relationship for user satisfaction in information systems implementation, which is tested empirically using the case of an enterprise system introduced in a higher education institution. The research proposes a number of criteria for measuring the presence of a J-curve. Data were collected over several years covering four periods before and after implementation and the presence of a J-curve is tested statistically using several measures via curve fitting and ANOVA. The results partially support the presence of a J-curve but call for further longitudinal data. The research will round off with implications for practice and further research.

Biography:
Stuart J. Barnes has been Chair and Professor of Management in the Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia since January 2005. Previously he worked at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and the University of Bath. Stuart has been teaching and researching in the information systems field for over a decade and half. His academic background includes a first class degree in Economics from University College London and a PhD in Business Administration from Manchester Business School. His primary research interests centre on the successful utilization of new information and communications technologies by businesses, governments and consumers. He has published five books (one a best-seller for Butterworth-Heinemann) and more than a hundred and fifty articles including those in journals such as Communications of the ACM, Communications of the AIS, Information & Management, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Data Base, European Journal of Marketing and Journal of Marketing Management.

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