Why do enterprise information systems fail to match the reality?

Organizations 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 organizations. However, there is evidence that many of these systems fail to deliver the expected outcomes and often fail completely. This study explores the linkages among operational performance, system effectiveness, and the organizational factors that influence the balance that these systems require. This research uses a qualitative approach, based on unstructured interviews with healthcare workers at different levels of the organization, to build on the existing literature and to further confirm and refine a theoretical framework.