Structuration analysis of accounting-based ERP system organizational change

Using a framework informed by Giddens (1984, 1990) notions of trust, agents’ reflexivity, ontological security, routines, dialectical of control and power, the study explores the political behaviors associated with the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system introduced in a public service organization operating in an emerging country – the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study examines how organizational members’ political behavior emanates during the implementation of an accounting-based ERP system. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, documentary evidence, and personal observation. The case study evidence shows that the accounting-based ERP system facilitated organizational members’ reflexivity and critical reflection in re-assessing the pre and post ERP system ways of thinking. The findings also illustrate how trust (whether personal trust or system trust) plays a pivotal role in reinforcing the organisation power to change, and how the mistrust has become a source of power hindering organisational change. This power-based trust adds to Fincham (1992) and Hardy (1996) frameworks of power since they do not underscore the power of “trust and/or mistrust†and the antecedents of such “trust and/or mistrustâ€