Misalignments in ERP implementation: A dialectic perspective

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are often not fully aligned with the implementing organization. It is important to understand their sources of misalignments because they can have significant implications for the organization. From a dialectic perspective, such misalignments are the result of opposing forces that arise from structures embedded in the ERP package and the organization. An intensive case study was conducted in one organization that has experienced significant misalignments with its ERP implementation. A typology of the misalignments and four pairs of dialectic forces were identified. Articulating deeper structural level misalignments enables organizations to examine their assumptions about the "permanent" characteristics of the organization and helps misalignments surface early to aid planning for resolution strategies.