Organizational cultural dynamics for organizational enterprise resource planning implementation: a case study

Abstract

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a fully integrated system that links all divisions and aspects of a company on one platform. All departments within an organization can access a single, shared database of information that is powered by modern ERPs, giving businesses real-time decision-making access. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of organizational cultural dynamics in improving organizational ERP implementation, which has not been explored in past literature. The research site of this study, called Turbo Cheetah to preserve its anonymity, is a leading automobile company in Sri Lanka. This study explores how organizational cultural dynamics influence the organizational ERP implementation in a leading automobile company in Sri Lanka and its journey of institutionalization. The findings provide insight into the internal cultural aspects involved in ERP implementation, specifically open communication, inter-departmental collaboration, and bureaucratic decision-making. The challenges encountered in the process of institutionalization and the journey towards business excellence across the group. This research provides valuable insights that are essential for policymakers, industry professionals, and technology developers in ERP institutionalization. Foregrounding discourse theory extends existing discourse theory-inspired management research. The paper also offers learning points to practitioners by illustrating the rise and fall of the ERP institutionalization story. It further shows how internal cultural dynamics drive ERP implementation, and how ERP has been practically interwoven in the study organization and its journey towards business excellence.