Fads and fashions in management: the case of ERP

ORGANIZAÇÃO, RECURSOS HUMANOS E PLANEJAMENTO

Fads and fashions in management: the case of ERP

Miguel P. Caldas^I; Thomaz Wood Jr.^II

^IB.A. (UnB), Master and Ph.D. Degrees in Business Administration (EAESP/FGV), Professor of the Management Department at EAESP/FGV, and Management Consultant. E-mail: [e-mail]

^IIB.S. in Chemical Engineering (Unicamp), Master and Ph.D. Degrees in Business Administration (EAESP/FGV), Professor of the Production and Operations Management Department at EAESP/FGV, and Management Consultant. E-mail: [e-mail]

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) rage. ERP represents immense investments for companies around the globe and has been promoted as a management panacea. Not surprisingly, many implementations fail to match expectations. In this study, we propose a broader perspective to comprehend the substantive, institutional, and political factors involved in the ERP phenomenon, as an alternative to the "techno-reductionism" that has characterized the prevailing approach on the subject, and present an exploratory survey of 28 implementation experiences, concentrating on the process of adoption, chosen implementation approaches and outcome assessment.

Key words: Enterprise Resource Planning, managerial innovation, management fads and fashions.

RESUMO

Este artigo discute a "onda" dos Sistemas Integrados de Gestão (SIG). Os SIG representam imensos investimentos para empresas em todo o mundo e têm sido promovidos como panacéias gerenciais. Previsivelmente, muitas implantações não atendem às expectativas. Neste estudo, propomos uma perspectiva ampla para a compreensão dos fatores substantivos, institucionais e políticos envolvidos no fenômeno SIG, como uma alternativa ao "tecnoreducionismo" que tem caracterizado as abordagens usuais ao tema, e apresentamos uma pesquisa exploratória com 28 experiências de implantação, concentrando o foco no processo de adoção, na abordagem escolhida para implantação e na avaliação dos resultados.

Palavras-chave: Sistema Integrado de Gestão, inovação gerencial, modas e modismos gerenciais.

Texto completo disponível apenas em PDF.

Full text available only in PDF format.

NOTES

This article was originated from two research grants from Integrados de Gestao" (NPP Report # 16/99, in Portuguese) A preliminary version (in Portuguese) of this research Nucleo de Pesquisas e Publica,Bes (NPP), the research and "Fads and fashions in management: an empirical study consolidation paper was presented at the 1999 ENANPAD institute from EAESP/FGV. The complete reports were titled: on Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) in Brazil". (OLS Division), as well as at the 1999 Annual Meetings of "Modas e modismos gerenciais: o caso dos Sistemas the Academy of Management (MC Division).

• ABRAHAMSON, E. Managerial fads and fashions: the diffusion and rejection of innovations. Academy of Management Review, v. 16, n. 3, p. 586-612, July 1991.
• ABRAHAMSON, E. Management fashion. Academy of Management Review, v. 21, n.1, p. 254-285, Jan. 1996.
• ABRAHAMSON, E., FAIRCHILD, G. Management fashion: lifecycles, triggers, and collective learning processes. Paper presented during the Annual Meetings of the Academy of Management. Boston, MA : Academy of Management, Aug. 1997.
• AMR research predicts industrial enterprise applications market will reach $72.6 billion by 2002. Boston, MA : AMR Research, Nov. 2, 1998. Press Release. Also in No stopping ERP. PCWeek. [cited 1998-11-30]. Available from Internet: <http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/>
• BROWN, A. D. Narrative, politics and legitimacy in an IT implementation. Journal of Management Studies, v. 35, n. 1, p. 35-58, Jan. 1998.
• CALDAS, M. P. Toward a more comprehensive model of managerial innovation diffusion: why consultants are not the only ones to blame. Paper presented at the Managerial Consultation Division during the Annual Meetings of the Academy of Management. Cincinnati, OH : Academy of Management, 1996.
• CALDAS, M. P., WOOD JR., T. Inovações gerenciais em ambientes turbulentos. In: WOOD JR., T. (Ed.). Mudança organizacional: aprofundando temas atuais em administração de empresas. São Paulo : Atlas, 1995.
• CALDAS, M. P., WOOD JR., T. “For the English to see”: the importation of managerial technology in late 20th century Brazil. Organization, v. 4, n. 4, p. 517-534, Nov. 1997.
• CARVALHO, L. R. M. Integrated systems implementation. In: SIMPOI, 1., 1998, São Paulo. Anais.. São Paulo : EAESP/FGV, 1998. p. 273-287.
• CORREA, H. L. ERPs: por que as implantações são tão caras e raramente dão certo? In: SIMPOI, 1., 1998, São Paulo. Anais.. São Paulo : EAESP/FGV, 1998. p. 288-300.
• DAVENPORT, T. H. Putting the enterprise into the enterprise system. Harvard Business Review, v. 76, n. 4, p. 121-131, July/Aug. 1998.
• DIMAGGIO, P. J., POWELL, W. W. The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, v. 48, n. 1, p. 147-160, 1983.
• FROST, P. J., EGRI, C. P. The political process of innovation. In: STAW e CUMMINGS (Eds). Research in organizational behavior Greenwich : JAI Press, 1991. v. 13.
• GILL, J., WHITTLE, S. Management by panacea: accounting for transience. Journal of Management Studies, v. 30, n. 2, p. 281-295, Mar. 1992.
• LAMPEL, J. Innovation as spectacle: dramaturgical construction of technological change. Paper presented at Conference on the Social Construction of Industries and Markets. Chicago, 1995.
• MCGEE, J., PYBURN, L., PRUZAK, L. Managing information strategically New York : John Wiley & Sons, 1993.
• MEYER, J. W., ROWAN, B. Institutional organizations: formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, v. 83, n. 2, p. 340-363, Sept. 1977.
• MINTZBERG, H. Structure in fives: designing effective organizations. Englewood Cliff, NJ : Prentice-Hall, 1983.
• SAP, o espírito do Vale do Silício chega ao Reno. Gazeta Mercantil, São Paulo,17 nov. 1998. C6–C7. Tradução da Business Week.
• SCOTT, W. R. The adolescence of institutional theory. Administrative Science Quarterly, v. 32, n. 4, p. 493-511, Dec. 1987.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  23 Sept 2011
• Date of issue
  Sept 2000