Enterprise Resource Planning System in a Multinational Enterprise: Users' Attitude Post-Implementation

This paper analyzes the impact of the implementation of SAP R/3 in a Multinational Portuguese Organization (MPO), defining some Critical Success Factors (CSFs). In order to understand the motivations of end-users prior to implementation and to analyze the behavior after a change (post-implementation), a study based on a questionnaire was carried out. The sample included 67 users of SAP R/3 that were present throughout the process. Considering the results, we can conclude that the implementation of SAP R/3 in MPO was successful, and the respondents consider their work more productive and achieve easier access to information. The existence of a solid team to support the project was established as a major facilitator in the whole process, in opposing with the limited time and lack of training that emerged as barriers to the implementation. It was also found that the learning period assumes a high importance in the success of the implementation, once increasing the training time reduces the need for support to the end-users.