Critical success factors of ERP implementation in chinese state-owned enterprises

As ERP implementation is complex and risky, there were many researchers discussed the critical success factors (CSFs) of it to achieve a more successful ERP implementation project. On the other hand, the ERP implementation in Chinese SOEs met some other obstacles. There were articles discussed what were the differences of ERP implementation between Chinese SOE and western countries, and some were directly about the CSFs among Chinese SOE implementing, there is still lack of a comprehensive study of what caused the difficulties and why, as well as possible solutions for it. This study was based on both literature review and empirical study. Literature of brief ERP and ERP implementation introduction, general CSFs description, cultural features of Chinese SOE, and ERP implementation in Chinese context, were reviewed. In the empirical study, which was about the ERP implemented in a Chinese SOE, the project process was described and the perspectives from different project participants were obtained by interviews, surveys and documents. Generated from the literature review and empirical study, suggestions of CSFs of ERP implemented in Chinese SOE are as follow: the legacy systems, existing data quality and IT infrastructure should be figured out to make proper plans and schedule; the top management should be mobilized to guarantee their sufficient support and commitment, as well as resource allocation; the employee cultural feature should be understood such as collectivist and uncertainty acceptance culture; and based on these understanding of the cultural characteristics of project relevant groups, then the appropriate and accurate plan and estimation can be done; during the project, the project team has to spend enough effort and patience to execute the plans, as well as guarantee the effective communications among implementing parties; after the implementation, a continuous attention should be paid by top management and relevant departments to obtain the continuous improvement which is one of the ERP benefits