Enterprise Systems Adoption and Firm Performance in Europe: The Role of Innovation

Despite the ubiquitous proliferation and importance of Enterprise Systems (ES), little research exists on their performance impact, especially in Europe. This paper provides large-sample, economy- wide evidence on the differential effects of enterprise systems on performance of European enterprises. It also highlights the important mediating role of innovation in the process of value creation from ES investments. This study uses data on the adoption of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), SCM (Supply Chain Management), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), KMS (Knowledge Management System), and DMS (Document Management System) and investigates the effects on product and process innovation, revenue, productivity and market share growth, and profitability. The results show that all ES categories significantly contribute to product and process innovation. Most of ES categories affect revenue, productivity and market share growth positively. More domain-specific and simpler system types lead to stronger positive effects. None of ES categories contribute to profitability likelihood. The findings imply that innovation acts as a full or partial mediator in the relationship between ES adoption and firm performance.