An exploratory study examining the balance between system effectiveness and operational effectiveness in the implementation of enterprise information systems

Organisations are increasingly investing in complex enterprise information systems. In most cases, claims are made concerning how these expensive systems will produce considerable improvements in the operational performance of the organisations. Nevertheless, there is evidence that many of these systems fail to deliver the expected outcomes and often fail completely. This study explores the linkages among system effectiveness, operational performance, and the organisational factors that influence the balance that these systems require. As current literature is silent in regard to such interactions, this research uses a qualitative approach, based on unstructured interviews with employees at different levels in an Electricity distribution organisation, to build on the existing literature and to further confirm and refine a theoretical framework.