4Beyleveld.qxd


Background to Information Technologies and Business

Information Technolog y (IT) has been a powerful force in the

far-reaching changes that have taken place in the way 

people accomplish their work in the 21st cent ury. Not

surprisingly, the role that IT plays in business has also 

given rise to various crucial questions. Undoubtedly, a key

issue is whether resources and money invested by business in

such innovation justif y the expected increased productivit y

and return on investment. Donovan-Wright, in an article

entitled "How to do ERP Right" (2003), quotes Fritz who,

working as project manager in assist ing organizat ions

undergoing Enter prise Resource Planning (ERP)

implementations, warns that organizations implementing

ERP from a pure technolog y perspective are bound to

experience an enormous people issue. Working for a

company that lost $50 million in revenues after a project

implementation, Fritz substantiates this claim by pointing

out: "[t]his is evidenced by predictable performance dips of

25 to 50 percent for the first six to eight months after 

system launch" (Donovan-Wright, 24/3/2003).

The issue of returns on vast IT expenditure also received

attention by Taylor (1995) who states that modern organizations

are critically dependent on IT for their daily operations and that

it is thus crucial when designing information system solutions

that business engineering efforts are focused on improving

business process as well as productivity. He comments that while

American companies spent in excess of a trillion dollars on

information technology during the 1980’s their overall office

productivity increased by only one percentage point. He

concludes: “Given the obvious advantages of automating routine

business processes, there is clearly something wrong with this

picture" (Taylor, 1995, p. 188).

Siegele (2003), after having undertaken a survey on the IT

industry, describes how the divide between business and

Information Management (IM) departments causes the

miscalculation of IT project implementations. He explains: "This

set-up creates permanent tension between IT departments and

the business units. It is also the main reason why so many IT

projects are over budget and late. And when they are up and

running at last, they often turn out to be obsolete already; or

they do not get used because they take no account of how

employees actually do their work" (Siegele, 2003, p. 22)

(emphasis added).

After having worked in the field of ERP system

implementations and more specifically Systems Applications

Products (SAP) R/3 for the past four years, the first author,

Beyleveld1, feels that the inherent problem implies the lack of

competency development in business’ understanding of people

using these systems and the resultant lack of business

ownership. The focus remains largely on a transactional level

of the implemented technology2. Consequently, the emerging

social and cultural environment, which would enable the

business and its system implementers to be more proactive, is

not understood properly. The reasons for this are numerous

and include amongst others: (i) we do not know what these

competencies are, (ii) project implementation limits the time

available to position people and teach them the new skills

required, and, (iii), the social environment and cult ure

following ERP implementation are largely unknown

contributing to misjudging, if not discounting the emerging

culture, when adopting new ways of working.

Impact of Information Technologies on Business

Some of our experiences and views, as well as related

viewpoints of other scholars, bear testament to the reasons

given by Axelrod (2000) as to why the traditional change

management paradigm does not meet the challenges of the

contemporary corporate world. He (Axelrod 2000) argues

that the traditional paradigm produces unintended negative

consequences, as its models do not cater for current

challenges. Axelrod (2000, p. 18) focuses on the following six

factors which he believes accounts for the ineffectiveness of

ARNOLD BEYLEVELD

WILLEM SCHURINK
willems@acc.co.za

Department of Human Resources Management

University of Johannesburg

ABSTRACT
Many companies that have implemented an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system do not reap the intended

benefits of the potential inherent in these systems despite their exorbitant implementation cost. The reasons for this

are numerous. This study is aimed at understanding the social impact a Systems Applications Products (SAP) R/3

implementation had on the end users of a South African Company in the Chemical Industry. A qualitative process

evaluation study was undertaken to obtain a clearer understanding of the underlying organisational cultural factors

that emerged from such an implementation. The objective was to provide a framework for companies considering

such an implementation to ensure better system productivity and to assist companies already using an ERP solution

with continuous improvement. 

OPSOMMING
Vele maatskappy ontgun nie al die moontlike voordele van die implimentering van ’n “Enterprise Resource Planning”

(ERP) stelsel nie ten spyte van die hoë implimenteringskoste verbonde aan sulke stelsels. Die redes hiervoor is legio.

Die studie het dit ten doel gehad om die impak te verstaan wat so ’n stelselimplimentering het op die eindverbrukers

van ’n Suid Afrikaanse maatskappy in die Chemiese Bedryf. ’n Proses-evalueringstudie was onderneem om meer

duidelikheid te kry oor die onderliggende kulturele faktore wat ontstaan het tydens die implimentering van ’n

“Systems Applications Products” (SAP R/3). Die doel van die studie was om ’n raamwerk te skep waarbinne

maatskappye wat soortgelyke stelselimplimenterings oorweeg hulself kan voorberei vir hoër stelsel produktiwiteit.

Laastens was die doel om insig aan maatskappye wat alreeds ’n ERP stelsel geïmplimenteer het te bied oor die impak

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS

PRODUCTS (SAP) R/3 BY EMPLOYEES OF A 

SOUTH AFRICAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES COMPANY

Requests for copies should be addressed to: W. Schurink, willems@acc.co.za

22

SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 2005, 3 (1), 22-33

SA Tydskrif vir Menslikehulpbronbestuur, 2005, 3 (1), 22-33

1 In order to adhere to the journal guidelines the decision was made to write this study in

the third person, even though it is acceptable practice in qualitative research to write

research reports in the first person. Arnold Beyleveld conducted the research project and is

the first author of this article, while Willem Schurink is the second author who as study

leader assisted with the planning of the research and writing of the article.

2 This differs somewhat from Fritz’s technology and relates to business processes and

people requirements.



change management: (i) allowing a small number of people

to decide for many; (ii) isolating leaders and organization

members from one another; (iii) separating the design

process from that of implementation; (iv) adopting the

parallel organization but not its underlying values; (v)

assigning a primary role to process improvements and a

secondary one to cultural shifts, and (vi) being unequal in

the process itself.

The position taken in this article is that the focus on the

transactional level of the implemented technolog y has

resulted in South African businesses not being able to exploit

or optimally develop the competencies needed to tap the

value of these technologies. We believe it is crucial for

business to view the ERP system as an Information

Management Tool to be used in enabling them to encourage

their business processes and not to regard it as the

responsibility of some IM Department. 

Organisational dynamics are of crucial importance and it is

appropriate at this juncture to explore some specifics of 

other developments highlighted by Axelrod (2000) and 

other specialists. Axelrod points to the following: "As the

parallel organization was adopted by process-driven 

change, the concept of shifting the organization's culture

began to fade into the background and eventually disappeared

entirely. What became primary was implementing the change,

often through technology. Even though the development of

new systems and structures required people to change the 

way they worked and the partners they worked with, these

cultural aspects were deemed secondary. There are many

examples of reorganizations and reengineering processes

designed to create new internal working relationships or 

to improve customer service that completely ignored the

cultural aspects of change. People soon found themselves 

in new organisational configurations designed to produce

cooperation, teamwork, and improved customer service 

while old hierarchical silo culture remained unchanged. 

This failure to deal with cult ural aspects of change

undermined the benefits of the system" (Axelrod, 2000, 

p. 23) (Emphasis added).

Davenport (1999) appropriately points out that organizations

build and strengthen their capabilities, by improving 

them to affect a winning strategy. Developing organization

capabilities, in turn, calls for the manipulation of a set of

implementation levers. He (Davenport, 1999, p. 49)

distinguishes the following “four levers”: (i) human capital3;

(ii) organization structure4; (iii) work processes5, and, (iv)

technology6. Davenport (1999) believes that to acquire a

competitive advantage, organizations need to ensure that 

the aforementioned levers are taken into consideration. 

Looking at ERP project implementation, it is clear that the

focus is typically on structure, process and technology with

little attention given to developing people competencies to

drive these components. In real terms, ‘people development’

receives attention only when the operation of the new system

is addressed after the go-live phase of a SAP R/3 project

implementation. He (Davenport 1999) rightly argues that

companies place a high premium on the ability of individuals

to act strategically. Since the advent of technological

innovation, the shortening of the time-to-market period, and

the growing demand for continued innovation and

productivit y have changed at a rapid pace resulting in

strategic performance becoming crucial. According to

Davenport (1999), in order for an individual to be the ‘right

worker’, i.e. someone who is capable of observing the

environment, assessing the company's position, and

responding creatively to a demanding environment of today,

s/he needs to re-skill him/herself continuously.

Before concluding this introduction, it is necessary to emphasize

the purpose of ERP implementation and some of its

shortcomings7. First and foremost, as has been implied already,

an ERP implementation is intended to assist organizations in

planning their strategies. While we supply people with the

necessary technology and redesign processes and structures with

world best practices, we barely, if at all, provide the necessary

assistance to enable people to exploit the new system properly.

In addition, while we certainly empower organizations, there 

is no doubt that we also, unintentionally, tend to weaken 

the potentially critical role the work force could play 

in influencing organisational strategies striving towards

achieving competitive advantage. This unfortunate state 

of affairs is mainly due to an inadequate understanding of 

the social and cultural environment emerging from SAP 

R/3 implementation.

Problem Statement

From the preceding it should be clear that ERP implementations

are very costly, complex and consequently have a significant

impact on organizations as a whole. The purpose of such

implementations is at the very least to ensure organisational

performance, improved customer service, cost savings, and good

return on investments. Reaping the benefits of ERP

implementations after the execution of the project represents

one of the challenges contemporary companies are faced with.

Productivity and system effectiveness are obviously a result of

the interaction between the people and the system, and do not

come about merely because a new system has been

implemented. Therefore, it follows that productivity and

effectiveness will only occur if the users of the technology are

sufficiently developed to improve their skills, knowledge,

potential and mind-set (Bacal, 3/2/2003).8 Furthermore, ERP

implementations imply major cultural changes since 

project teams focus purely on technology and silo based

business process implementations. Integrated business processes

are not in operation until the system is activated. Such

integration is only tested during the final preparation phase of

the implementation project and then only on the technical

configuration aspects of the project. In other words, true

integration of the business processes are not mapped out in real

life situations, thus true business re-engineering does not take

place. This results in people trying to operate the system in 

an ‘old’ culture of business operation and not exploiting 

the benefits of an integrated business model. According 

to Davidson (in Donovan-Wright 24/3/2003), "Companies did

not realize they were going through a cultural change 

as well as a process change until they were well into 

the implementation. The technology-based project teams didn't

realize they needed buy-in, and often, HR wasn't brought in

until it was too late". 

Technology, first and foremost, entails the application of

knowledge to execute business processes more effectively

through tasks or activities. Nel et al. (2002) state that

organisational technology prescribes the techniques necessary

to transform inputs into outputs. According to them, it can be

argued that all managers and levels of staff in contemporary

organizations make use of technology in transforming their

organizations. Consequently, the effect of technology on

organisational structure and behaviour is more pronounced

than ever before. Mullins (1999) notes that in today's work

environment technolog y has an inf luence on both the

behaviour of people and the climate of the organization.

Information technology, he believes, affects the nature of

individual jobs and the formation and structure of working

groups. Finally, advances in technical knowledge tend to

develop at a faster rate than, and in isolation from, related

human and social consequences. In the IT industry this is

commonly refer to as the Law of Moore9. The world is rapidly

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS 23

3 The intangible resources of abilities, effort and time workers bring to invest in their work. 4 The pattern of relationships between units and individuals within the organisation. 5 The series of

actions and operations that yield products and services. 6 The employment of mechanical means, especially science and computer related, to perform tasks and manage information. 7 The main

purpose of an ERP system is to streamline the data collection and the processing, based on the information needs of the industry segment. Better information leads to better business decisions, which

in turn contribute to improved business performance (Higuet & Kelly, 1998). 8 Ideally, these competencies should not only be transactional skills, knowledge and capabilities, but should include

supplementary skills and knowledge (Bacal, 3/2/2003). 9 Moore predicted that the number of transistors which could be put on a single computer chip would double every 18 months. Moore’s

prediction has broadly been proved accurate between 1971 and 2001 (Siegele, 2003, p. 3). This development caused the rapid growth in the IT industry’s capabilities.



becoming increasingly complex through the accelerated

development and application of IT resulting in organizations

having to respond much faster to challenges. This demand

requires quantum leap change, rather than adaptive change,

from organizations. In order to achieve this, a new breed of

leader is required (Nel et al. 2002).

From the preceding, the applicability, if not necessity, of

researching the topic is threefold; (i) organisational

development to shorten the period of system stabilization after

project implementation, (ii) competency development to ensure

a higher level of productivity and effectiveness and (iii)

leadership and organisational culture to ensure return on

investment in a shorter period of time. A better understanding

of the social environment and culture of the end users that have

been developed owing to ERP implementation can contribute to

all these areas.

Aim of study

The main aim of the study was to become familiar with the

current everyday experiences and viewpoints of a group of end

users in a South African company in the Chemical Industry

which have been exposed to an ERP implementation for the

past two and a half to three years. Their subjective, insider

experiences of the system and their views, particularly as to

whether anything could have been done differently to make the

application of the system easier, were elicited and described.

This implies that a process evaluation was undertaken in which

the staff’s everyday lived experiences, i.e. their understanding

of behaviour, competencies, attitudes and values, were elicited

and described. 

METHOD

Research Setting

Because of the typical in-depth and comprehensive descriptive

nat ure of qualitative research, the st udy needed to be

restricted to rather small realities, or so-called small-scale

worlds. Based on Beyleveld’s experience with the ERP

implementation, it was decided to focus on those departments

of the Chemical Company that are based at its Head Office in

Johannesburg, Gauteng. The company is a large manufacturer

of chemical products in South Africa and a division of a larger

corporation. Their products are sold locally and

internationally. The majority of end users using the SAP R/3

system are concentrated at the Johannesburg office10. The

company has experienced a massive growth in terms of market

expansion and customer base since it was established seven

years ago11. It started off with a very small personnel

component and the leadership style, culture and governance

models were very informal. Their market expansion and

growth happened very fast and their informal leadership style

did not keep up with this growth. During this period the

decision was made to implement the SAP system and the

changes in the work culture12 was driven more by the system

than the leadership style13. 

Methodology

In order to accomplish the present study’s objectives, a

methodolog y was required that would be suitable for

investigating the relatively unexplored area of a SAP R/3

implementation. In addition, we wanted to explore the social

and cult ural environment evolving as a result of the

implementation, and particularly how this environment

changes the way employees of a South African chemical

company perceive and go about their everyday work. The need

to explore the subjective experiences of the end users led to the

selection of a qualitative methodology since this approach

with its unstructured and flexible ability is ideally suited to

discover and describe the insider worlds of the end users of

which very little, if any, knowledge is currently available

locally. More particularly, the present study resembles a

qualitative process evaluation of the SAP R/3 system that was

implemented in 2000 at its head office. According to Schurink

(2003f, p. 4) process evaluation “focuses on the actual

activities of a particular programme (system) and its internal

dynamics in an attempt to reach some understanding of the

programme's strengths and weaknesses”.

Qualitative Research and Information Systems (IS)

Myers (2003) from the Association for Information Systems

states that since there has been a general shift in research away

from technological to managerial and organisational issues in

Information Systems (IS), interest in the application of

qualitative research methods has increased. He claims that in

the area of the design and evaluation of information systems,

interesting collaborations between ethnographers (including

qualitative researchers) on the one hand, and designers, IS

professionals, computer scientists and engineers on the other

hand, are taking place. He correctly believes that there is a

need in this field to focus research on the people component

because of the impact of information systems on both the

organization and its culture. He concludes that ethnography

(including qualitative research) is very useful for exploring the

social and organisational contexts of IS development and its

use14. Qualitative research, in general, and ethnography, in

particular, are very good at answering so-called “w”-questions:

“why”, "what", "when", "where", and "who". The following

views from Myers (11/05/2003) reflect the increasing interest

in the application of ethnography in the Information Systems

(IS) field: 

“After early ground-breaking work by Wynn, Suchman and

Zuboff, ethnography has now become more widely used in the

study of information systems in organizations, from the study

of the development of information systems (Hughes et. al,

Orlikowski; Preston) to the study of aspects of information

technolog y management (Davies, Davies and Nielsen).

Ethnography has also been discussed as a method whereby

multiple perspectives can be incorporated in systems design

(Holzblatt and Beyer) and as a general approach to the wide

range of possible studies relating to the investigation of

information systems (Pettigrew). In the area of the design and

evaluation of information systems, some very interesting work is

taking place in a collaborative fashion between ethnographers

on the one hand, and designers, IS professionals, computer

scientists and engineers on the other. This collaborative work is

especially strong in the UK and Europe and is growing in the US”

(Emphasis added).

Other views from abroad on the place and role of ethnography

and qualitative research are that qualitative research and

specifically ethnographic research are commonly used in

business today (Collis & Hussey, 2003)15. Further, ethnographers

seek to understand the culture of a social system, where the

subject makes the first interpretation. This is then “… read and

systematized at the second order level by the researcher who

writes an ethnographical account for the third order

interpretation by the reader” (Partington, 2002, p. 120)16.

Qualitative Research in Local Management Studies 

While there is a general lack of training qualitative research

methodology at local higher training institutions, there is an

increasing tendency to start utilizing qualitative research for

researching life at work that can contribute to the development

of this field in South Africa; particularly with regard to the

BEYLEVELD, SCHURINK24

10 The head office in Johannesburg consists of the financial, sales and distribution, supply chain and logistics, mareketing information management departments. Their manufacturing plants are

situated at three different sites in South Africa and their distributing offices are based in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. 11 End users on the system increased from 200 in 2000 to more than

500 in 2003. 12 Work culture in this context is the way employees think about their business and how the value chain of the business is integrated. 13 The reason for implimenting the SAP R/3 system

was driven by a strategic decision of the larger corporation as part of their overall globalisation strategy. Business units or divisions had to implement the SAP system. 14 If there is a need to understand

how IS is developed and used in organisations, then ethnography is a powerful method since it provides an in-depth analysis of such a process and will enable researchers to answer questions

concerning why people don’t act in ways thought to be sensible or rational by others (Myers, 11/05/2003). 15 “It provides insight about a group of people and offers us an opportunity to see and

understand their world” (Collins & Hussey, 2003, p. 71). 16 “Within an organisation, particularly a large one, there is a pluraity of settings, and multiple frameworks of meaning, but the settings are

partial and specialised. The organisational culture is not only researched and described as a whole, as in classic ethnography, but also usually studied in a particular context to understand a

phenomenon of interest: (Partington, 2002, pp. 120-121).



research methodolog y found in the Human Resources

Management/Organisational/Leadership fields. Particularly

noticeable in South African management studies is that thus far

focus groups; repertory grid analysis, unstructured interviews,

phenomenological analysis, grounded theory, analytic

induction, and discourse analysis have been used.

Account of the execution of the study17

Why should qualitative researchers provide detailed

descriptions of their various and often minute research

decisions in their research outputs? The answer lies in the

belief shared by many qualitative researchers that a

comprehensive and motivated research account is a

prerequisite for the assessment of quality, or as it is often

termed, credibility18, 19. Before providing an account of the

decisions taken during the course of the research, a cautionary

note is in order. Providing sufficient detail on the various steps

taken during the execution of a particular study in an article is

challenging because of its relatively limited length

prescription. In this contribution we attempt to provide

sufficient information on some of what Beyleveld experienced

as key decisions taken during the execution of the research.

This does not imply that the many other decisions that were

taken but that are not described here are not important20. 

Research focus

Apart from the decisions on what to research and the selection

of a research setting, one of the first major challenges was how

to limit the research so as to be manageable, yet still

encompassing enough of the richness of a particular social

reality to allow a valid description and appreciation of it. This

particular issue could be resolved relatively early in the study

because of Beyleveld’s intimate knowledge of the company, its

people and SAP. At the time of deciding to undertake the study,

Beyleveld had already been in the employ of the company as a

consultant for a few years and formed part of the user group. As

an insider it was from the outset of the project clear to him

which aspects of SAP R/3 at the chemical company deserved

scientific scrutiny21. 

TABLE 1

PARTICIPANT PROFILE

Gender Position Department

Participant 1 Male Financial Manager Finance

Participant 2 Male Line Manager Logistics

Participant 3 Female Line Manager Export Sales

Participant 4 Female Line Manager Asset Management

Participant 5 Female Supervisor Accounts Receivable

Participant 6 Male Supervisor Sales and Distribution

Participant 7 Female Clerk Export Sales

Participant 8 Female Clerk Sales and Distribution

Participant 9 Male Clerk Financial

Participant 10 Male Business Process Specialist IM (Production 

Planning Processes)

Participant 11 Female Business Process Specialist IM (Sales and 

Distribution Processes)

Participant 12 Female Business Process Specialist IM (Material 

Management Processes)

Selecting colleagues as research participants

A conventional statistical sample frame was not used but instead

a mixture of snowball, convenient, and theoretical selection

strategies, typically used in qualitative research. These strategies

were applied to the company’s hierarchal structure, and

representatives from this indigenous typology were selected,

that is, participants from the clerical, first line management,

senior management level and business process specialists in the

IM department functioning as employee support, were

approached. (See Table 1).

On 20 June 2003, the Financial Manager of the company was
approached first because of his seniority in the company as
well as his positive yet critical attitude towards the SAP R/3
system. After the initial interview on 27 June 2003, he was
asked to recommend other potential interviewees he believed
could make a contribution to the st udy. This snowball
technique was followed during the entire data collection phase
until all levels of the hierarchy were covered and the data
became saturated. The final number of persons interviewed
during the data collection phase was 12. After the initial
meeting with each interviewee, follow-up meetings were
scheduled to discuss any forthcoming issues highlighted
during the initial interviews by particular participants. The
first four interviewees were interviewed 3 times each to allow
for cross-checking the data. The rest of the interviewees were
interviewed once only and on average their interviews lasted
about ninety minutes to cover all themes if these were not
mentioned initially. This process was followed until 17
October 2003 when a point of data saturation was reached. 

Soliciting relevant information

An initial meeting with the first interviewee selected was set

where the purpose of the study was explained to him. It was

explained that since he was part of the initial project

implementation as a business process owner and a senior

manager, he was familiar with the impact the system had on his

department and its people, and that his experience of this could

contribute in determining what, in hindsight, had happened,

what impact, if any, it had and what could have been done

differently. He was finally asked for his views on what the focus

for the future should be. 

This approach was generally followed with each interviewee. It is

important to note that at that point Beyleveld provided time for

questions from the interviewees. After this, the informed

consent form was discussed. Once the research participants had

agreed to take part in the study, the form was signed and the

interview started. The only problem experienced was the use of

the tape recorder, especially with the first interviewees. The

reason for this was not about being exposed, as the trust

relationship had already been established between Beyleveld

and the participants and the consent form was then signed. The

problem was rather the research participants’ unfamiliarity with

being tape-recorded. To overcome this, the tape recorder was

openly displayed during the initial explanation and discussion

and recording of the discussion only started once the

participant’s formal agreement was obtained. 

As the data collection approach was largely unstructured

(particularly the first interview sessions) subjective personal

experiences and views that were confusing or unclear, but

were particularly insightful and/or providing clues as to the

interviewees’ world, were followed up. Init ially the

interviewees were allowed to think back to their first

experience with the system and project team in order to share

their experiences of the SAP system and the project approach.

The rationale behind this approach was to allow them to talk

freely and not to interrupt them. Apart from checking that

the recorder worked, Beyleveld took down notes of

informat ion requiring f urther discussion in order to

understand their specific lived experienced and particularly

the words and expressions the interviewees used. Beyleveld

also reflected their views and experiences back to them in his

own words to ensure clarit y and comprehensiveness. This

process was followed until the research participants indicated

that there was nothing more they could add. Only then were

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS 25

17 Generally, researchers reporting on how they carried out their research give much more attention to the many decisions that they took when researching a particular social reality. This

comprehensive account often includes what has been termed “natural histories”, i.e. comprehensive descriptions of the various research steps in chronological order (Schurink, 2003g). 18 This belief

is at least found amongst qualitative researchers from the so-called “scientific moment” (Schurink, 2003g) and Denzin & Lincoln (2003). 19 Credibility is something that cannot be achieved by the

researcher since his/her study needs to be accredited by readers of qualitative research outputs (i.e. reports or articles) from information provided in the report by the researcher (Schurink, 2003g).

20 Should any additional information be required, Beyleveld can be contacted. 21 As already indicated, the study is focused on the impact of the SAP R/3 implementation on the social environment

and culture of the end users at the Head Office of the company used in this study.



topics or themes covered in the literat ure and/or by other

interviewees introduced and the interviewees were asked to

comment. More specifically, the following data collection

methods were employed: 

(i) Unstructured Face-to-face Interviews 

After considering the interview types and many available

approaches to interviewing, the definition provided by Schurink

(2003e) for unstructured interviews with a research schedule was

used. It relates to the general interview guide approach: 

“Unstructured interviews are conducted with the use of a

research schedule. The schedule is a guideline for the

interviewer and contains questions and themes that are

important to the research. Although the questions do not

usually have to be asked in a particular sequence, they do

ensure that all the relevant topics are covered during an

interview. Unstructured interviewing with a schedule or an

interview guide is of particular value in a group context.

Quantitative researchers have recently also started using

unstructured interviewing with a schedule as a form of

exploratory research. This allows them to formulate

hypotheses which could later be tested during a social

survey” (Schurink, 2003e, p. 3).

First interviews were scheduled with the participants during,

which the purpose and expected outcome of the study were

explained. Follow-up interviews were set up well in advance of

the actual meeting. These interviews were conducted on site.

During these sessions, the interviews were taped with the

consent of the participant. Once a session had been completed,

the interview was transcribed either in full or in part. In order

to ensure a mutual understanding of the purpose of the

interviews, the research goals and objectives were discussed

during the initial interview. As at least some trust relationship

already existed with most of the end users, Beyleveld did not

have any problems with developing a relatively secure

relationship with the interviewees. Issues around

confidentiality and anonymity were particularly emphasized,

and every attempt was made to put the subjects at ease. It was

explained to the subjects that Beyleveld’s role was to obtain

their lived experiences of the SAP implementation

uncontaminated. Beyleveld did his best not to either explicitly

or implicitly, make any value judgements about the

participants’ experiences and viewpoints.

Although the approach followed during the interviews was
largely unstructured, some guideline or structure needed to 
be introduced during the initial interview, which generally
became more structured during the follow-up interviews. 
More particularly, the interviewees were, firstly, requested to
share any information about themselves and their views 
and experiences of the SAP R/3 system, second, they were 
asked about any thing unclear in their accounts, and 
finally, topics related to the implemented system were
introduced. Any outstanding and/or illuminating or unfolding
concepts and/or experiences occurring in the participants’
accounts were taken care of during the interviews and
researcher’s subsequent field-notes. Any such illuminating 
and unfolding concepts were noted and discussed in follow-
up sessions. This led to a procedure during which patterns 
in thoughts and experiences were discovered, established 
and “examined” or validated. 

(ii) Human Documents

Beyleveld studied the SAP Steering Committee Minutes kept

since the implementation of SAP R/3 by the company and an

IM report following an investigation done on the competency

assessment of end users of the system. This was done with a

view to determining themes and issues, and to compare this

information to that elicited during the interviews. In addition,

it was decided to make use of solicited documents in the form

of stories compiled by the participants in which they shared

their lived experiences of the SAP R/3 implementation and

subsequent involvement. However none of the participants

were eager to write up their experiences and preferred to be

interviewed and therefore only unsolicited documents22 were

used. These were the SAP Steering Committee meeting minutes

and the report done on the competency investigation by the IM

Department. As Beyleveld was a consultant at the firm during

the study and thus an insider, he had also been exposed to the

system implementation and at the suggestion of Schurink,

compiled his own narratives of his experiences of the SAP

implementation and subsequent experience of stabilizing the

system. These sketches represent a particular kind of personal

document, which Schurink (2003e, pp. 10-11) defines as

follows, “The life history, autobiography or first-person report

is a qualitative data-gathering method that is primarily

concerned with a detailed first-hand account of the inner

experiences of a particular person, in other words his/her

description, interpretation and understanding of the world

around him/her”. 

(iii) Participation Observation

As Beyleveld has been with the company since the

implementation of the SAP project, first as Change Manager,

and then as Applications and Project Support Business

Information Consultant, he took advantage of participation

observation. For the purpose of this study, the following

definition provided by Fraenkel and Wallen in Schurink

(2003a, p. 5) was used, “In participant observation studies,

researchers actually participate in the situation or setting they

are observing. Participant observation can be overt, in that the

researcher is easily identified and the subjects know that 

they are being observed”. The various roles open to the

researcher are: (i) full participant; (ii) participant-as-observer;

(iii) observer-as-participant, and (iv) full-fledged observer

(Schurink, 2003a, p. 8). Owing to Beyleveld’s extensive

involvement with the SAP R/3 implementation and subsequent

responsibility of the system, all interviewees knew him 

and had an idea of what his role as Applications and 

Project Support Business Information Consultant entailed.

Therefore his role in participant observation was overt 

and varied bet ween participant-as-observer and observer-

s-participant.23

Transcribed taped inter views

Parts of the interviewees’ subjective accounts were elucidated

and in some instances entire tapes were transcribed. The

transcriptions were checked to ensure that core experiences

and worldviews had not been omitted and/or changed. Finally,

these were stored both in hardcopy and electronic format to

facilitate analysis.

Field Notes

A written account, field notes, of what was heard, seen and

experienced during the interviews was constructed and word-

processed as soon as possible after the conclusion of the

interviews. The notes took the form of both descriptive and

reflective reference. The former representing portraits of the

subjects, reconstructions of dialogues, descriptions of the

physical setting, accounts of particular events including

Beyleveld’s behaviour, and the react ions and feelings

occurring during the interviews. The latter, as the name

suggests, reflected a more personal account of the course of

the research in a subject ive manner, for example,

speculations, feelings, problems, ideas, hunches, impressions

and prejudices24. In the process of compiling the field notes,

Schurink’s (2003c) t ypolog y (a revised adaptation of the

scheme developed by Schatzman and Strauss (1973) was

followed.25 These are notes on reminders, instructions and

critical comments. These field notes enabled Beyleveld to

make preliminary analyses that he verified in subsequent data

collection and finalized at the end when he was involved

predominantly in data analysis.

BEYLEVELD, SCHURINK26

22 All potential participants that were approached said they would prefer the interview setting to express and convey their experiences and perspectives. 23 Many informal discussions Beyleveld had

with people and the interviewees during particpant observation were noted and added to the field notes. 24 In compliance with Schurink (2003d, p. 9), these notes reflected (i) analysis, (ii) method,

(iii) possible ethial dilemmas and conflicts, and (iv) Beyleveld’s state of mind. 25 This implied that the contents of the notes included (i) observational notes (ON’s), i.e. notes on what happened with

little if any interpretation provided, (ii) theoretical notes (TN’s), i.e. self-conscious, systematic attemps to derive meaning from the ON’s, and (iii) methodological notes (MN’s).



Data-analysis

Focusing on all three focus areas26 of ERP implementation

Beyleveld attempted to describe, understand, and explain the

subjective views and experiences of the research participants

(the etic approach). The data of each interviewee’s accounts as

per his field notes and memo’s were first sifted according to

these three main areas after which they were sub-divided into

different categories facilitating the establishment of specific

trends and patterns. Once this was done, Beyleveld grouped

together relevant topics of all interviewees and, from his

understanding, gave each group a collective name or heading.

He then proceeded to make further deductions and

interpretations. While no systematic qualitative analytic

method was used the preceding activities bear a resemblance to

grounded theory and analytic induction. 

Credibility/true worthiness of data

While no fast-and-hard rules exist to guide qualitative

researchers in doing qualitative research, some guidelines

have been developed which can be used to accomplish

qualitative or credible qualitative research. First, possible

disturbing factors27 were anticipated and an effort was made

to minimize them. Second, in the compilation of the field-

notes, Beyleveld tried to reflect on these effects and his

attempts to curb them. Third, to assure the participants’

candid cooperation in the study, Beyleveld spent considerable

time on the topicalit y, nat ure and aim of the research before

he asked participants to share their views and experiences.

Fourth, the participants were assured that they would remain

anonymous and that everything they would share would be

treated confidentially and used for research purposes only28.

Fifth, to compensate to some extent for the negative effects

of each particular method of data collection, triangulation

was used, i.e. applying multiple methods of data collection.

Sixth, to the extend that Beyleveld’s approach was reviewed

by Schurink, and other examiners “peer debriefing” was used.

Finally, so-called member-checks were employed, i.e. by

providing the analysis and interpretation of the material

obtained from the participants to them and requesting them

to comment on it. 

All participants involved in the member-checks commented

that the findings, conclusions and recommendations were in

line with their own experience and no comments were

received that differed to what was presented to them. They

regarded the study as comprehensive in terms of the topic 

being investigated and also as very informative as far as the

findings and recommendations were concerned. They 

agreed with the finding that the real issue centred on the

people issues and not the technical solutions. They were

further of the opinion that companies considering

implementing an ERP or had already been through an 

ERP implementation should consider the findings of this

study as this will assist them in enhancing the productivity of

the system. (See Table 2).

TABLE 2

MEMBER-CHECK SUMMARY

Gender Position Department

Member-check 1 Male Line Manager Logistics

Member-check 2 Female Line Manager Export Sales

Member-check 3 Female Line Manager Asset Management

Member-check 4 Male Supervisor Sales and Distribution

Member-check 5 Female Business Process IM (Sales and 

Specialist Distribution Processes)

Member-check 6 Female Business Process IM (Material 

Specialist Management Processes)

Ethical problems are particularly challenging when

conducting qualitative research and the present study was no

exception. The study inevitably delved into the social lives of

the end users taking part in the study, which led to the

concern that such an intense study of subjects’ lives might

cause them harm. While it would be presumptuous to claim

that the participants experienced no harm, we are convinced

that Beyleveld acted scientifically responsible29. Finally, there

exists the possibility of emotional stress on the part of

interviewees by participating in the research and being

requested to sign a consent form.

FINDINGS

As is to be expected from a qualitative study a large amount of

rich data was generated. The data represented (i) views and

experiences solicited from end users interviewed, (ii) statements

and descriptions found in human documents both unsolicited

(company minutes, etc.) and solicited ones (researcher sketches).

Naturally, all these data cannot be presented in an article.

Consequently, in this section the most relevant and/or

illuminating subjective experiences and viewpoints are

presented by presenting relevant information obtained from the

various data collection methods. This is done according to

common themes found in the data as well as their relatedness to

the methodology of the Accelerated Systems Applications

Products (ASAP) methodology’s main focus areas, namely

business, people and technology.

People-Centered Process

New Culture

All interviewees referred to the way the culture of doing business

had changed due to the SAP implementation. They used

explanations such as culture, new way of doing business, business

culture, dependency on the Information Management Department,

different culture and method of working. The entire group of end

users participating in the study (12) mentioned this issue

without being prompted. The higher levels of management

focused on the strategy of business processes while the lower

levels focused more on the influence the current processes have

on them. The following are some of the verbatim comments on

this theme:

A female end user involved in the system for the past three years

commented: “People still see this is my job and the rest is not my

responsibility even though the system enforces a new way of doing

your job”. A male line manager that was also part of the

implementation team noted, “That’s the culture here, most people

are just here to earn a salary and there is no ownership for the

system or the information that I need to manage” (Our

translation). A female line manager working on the system

since it was implemented stated, “The culture issue was not dealt

with properly and now people are forced to change their way of doing

and thinking about their job”.

This culture issue was also evident in the investigation that was

done by the IM department on the competency level of end users

as stated in the report on this issue in January 2002.

From the above, it is clear that the interviewees expressed a need

for the following:

� An understanding of how the system can drive business and

not work against them.

� Greater understanding of how business operates in general

but also as to their specific environment.

� Fostering a culture of disciplined integrated functional teams

to ensure process thinking and not trying to enforce a culture

by introducing the system.

� A definition of clear roles and responsibilities over process

and not with regard to functional areas alone.

� Clearly defined and documented business processes.

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS 27

26 The focus areas of a SAP R/3 implementation are Technology, Business Processes and People.
27 For example, in preparation for the interviews, Beyleveld generally tried to forsee factors that could be related to the study, the particular participant, focused interviews, and also his own duel
role, namely that of colleague and researcher. 28 Particularly challenging was to convince them that their accounts would under no circumstances be revealed to the executives of the company. 
29 As already pointed out, before any information was solicited from any participants, they were provided with quite a comprehensive explanation of the aims and the nature of the research allowing
them to assess any uneasiness or stress their participation might cause.



It is further clear that while the SAP system introduced a more

systematic and integrated way of doing business the organization

was not aligned to this kind of system and process thinking. In

the previous model of business where the departmental division

was more applicable, it wasn’t necessary for users to understand

or to be aware of other departments since the focus was mainly

on their own immediate department and its process. The SAP

system compelled end users to start thinking wider than their

immediate departmental boundaries. Neither the project

implementation team nor the organization through its

leadership or its business process re-engineering, prepared either

the business or its people for this new way of thinking. Also clear

is that the process that was followed to try and force the ERP

system to match the existing business process did not result in

the desired outcome. This in turn, gave rise to ongoing

customization that is currently hampering the stabilization

process. Furthermore, the people in the organization were not

prepared for an integrated business process-thinking model

before the new system was introduced. This was further

complicated by a lack of leadership focus or involvement as will

be indicated subsequently. From own experience, Beyleveld

believes the philosophy and methodology of ERP systems to run

across existing processes, hierarchies and functional divisions in

an organization are creating continuous change.

Thus: The new way of work or business culture that is emerging

is one of teamwork and/or process thinking. People need to be

developed in teamwork across functional hierarchies.

Performance and success in an integrated process-orientated

environment is not only the result of individual talents but also

the effort put into the processes between individuals of different

teams across functional hierarchies. This is clearly being

brought forward by an ERP system like SAP and this change in

work culture of moving away from a departmental focus to a

process orientation is one of the difficulties of implementing an

ERP system.

Management Involvement

Once again all participants referred to senior management and

line management's lack of involvement in the project

implementation and the system itself. The following are some of

the verbatim comments: 

A typical comment from a senior male member of staff 

was: “Management and leadership must change so that 

discipline can be enforced and to be able to manage it (information)

and they need to get involved in the system from the start other wise

the system will not operate” (Our translation). A female system

support staff member noted: “Senior management has no

ownership of the system as they do not know or understand the

system and its capabilities at all”. A female supervisor stated:

“Senior management does not see the system as a management

system but as a system for processing transactions” (Our

translation) A male line manager commented: “Management

that makes the decision is not the management that is involved in

the day-to-day operations. Management only pays lip ser vice, they

cannot educate staff when they do not understand themselves”.

It is evident that the end users experienced the lack of leadership

as part of the problems experienced at present with the system.

In addition, the participants were also of the opinion that more

involvement of these levels of management would ensure

ownership of the system as well as easier adoption of business

processes30. As Gunson and Du Blasis (1999) noted with most

ERP implementations, it was once again evident that

management did not realize that an ERP implementation

necessitates an implementation across the entire enterprise and

therefore needs greater involvement and commitment from top

and senior management. 

Business process understanding

Business process understanding seems to be crucial31. It is

interesting to note that only senior level end users recognized

this. The lower level interviewees did not initiate this topic

suggesting that it was not regarded as being important in their

everyday working experience. However, when prompted on

this, it was interesting that only one of the lower level

participants did not regard it as important. This particular

female member of staff believed that it was not necessary 

to grasp the complete business process since all that was

important was to focus on one’s own job: “I do not see why 

I should understand a business process because I am not 

interested in what other people is doing and how I am 

affecting them. All I am interested in is doing what I am

responsible for”. Other comments made by a senior manager

and female line manager respectively were: “Very few people

understand business processes and still want to operate in silos”

(Our translation). And: “People know what they need to do, but

not why they are doing it because they do not understand 

the business processes”.

Project team structure/selection

Again only management level brought this matter to the fore.

The lower levels did not regard it as important or relevant.

Neither did the people who were interviewed that are part of the

IM Department and representing the project implementa-

tion team.

A female line manager remarked: “It was a project run by

“other” people; they did not start with the people who were

affected by the project. The business people were involved in the

project drawing up blueprints and processes for jobs they have

never done and because of this management lost the buy in as

they had no credibility. Also people that were taken out of the

business were not involved in the business process, therefore the

wrong people were placed on the project team. This resulted in the

team not knowing enough about the business. The choice of 

team members must be people that are well aware of the 

business, does not matter what level in the business they are, but

they must be people that has credibility with the rest of their 

team members, that can inf luence the rest of the team to accept

the new process”.

Material gathered by means of the other data collection methods

did not reveal any experiences and views with regard to project

team structure/selection.

Training

Here interviewees commented on the operational aspects 

of the system, and the functional knowledge and 

training required. It is clear that there was consensus 

among the research participants that the transactional

training was adequate for people involved in the project, 

but that they generally lacked the inherent understanding 

of the system and how this linked to the integrated nature 

of the organization’s business processes or value chain. 

This resulted in end users experiencing difficult y in 

managing processes across functional areas and executing

problem-solving on the system. The timing of the

transactional training also seemed to be a crucial factor 

and should be conducted just before the “project go-live”

phase of the implementation process.

A senior manager noted: “Individuals that were not part of the

project implementation team do not have insight into the system

and for this reason the functionalities of the system are not

investigated and fully used” (Our translation). A male supervisor

commented: “Over view training of the system and the processes

should have happened earlier and transactional training later. We

never had business process over view training so we need to let the

people know how the business work and how SAP is aligned to map

the business”.

The SAP steering minutes referred to training on numerous

occasions but senior management interpreted the problem 

as a lack of transactional training even though the 

BEYLEVELD, SCHURINK28

30 This theme was not observed in any of the other data collection sources. 31 This issue was also identified and noted in the investigation done by the IM department in January 2002.



IM investigation found that the problem did not lie 

with transactional understanding but with process

understanding instead.

Business Process

Continuous Business Change

The constant change due to growth and expansion had definitely

influenced the project implementation and subsequent

stabilization of the system in at least a number of ways.

A single participant, a senior manager, felt that the 

changes effected were sufficient to support the structure of 

an integrated system, whereas the remainder of the subjects

who commented on this matter felt that the changes were 

too rapid and that too many things happened simultaneously,

and that the culture was not prepared with regard to all 

these changes to support an integrated business management

tool such as an ERP system. The system is then exploited to

change the culture. The senior manager commented: “Owing

to changes in the business the organization str ucture 

was changed to be supported by a system such as SAP in terms 

of a management matrix. The system introduced controls 

that can be used by management to manage the business” 

(Our translation).

Due to the rapid changes the business processes were

continually changing. This resulted in the inability of the

system to keep track of these transformations. As a result, the

responsibility of keeping the system and related business process

on the system up to date resided with the IM department. This,

once again, refers to the lack of ownership in the business to

utilize the system to drive its business. A male business support

staff member said: “Also the company has grown so much and so

fast that what was applicable and relevant in the beginning of the

project was not valid any more”. A female supervisor commented:

“Too many changes happen too fast, we were barely live with the

new system and then we had to upgrade to a new version again”

(Our translation).

End users from more senior levels in the organisation

appeared to be more at ease with the changes. A possible

explanation could be that they were part of the decision

processes accompanying all major changes or they generally

had a better understanding of changes in the market

environment. It appeared as if middle managers and junior

staff were suffering from ‘change fatigue’ resulting in them

not necessarily being committed to new changes. They tended

to regard changes as temporary since they believed these

depended on management’s ever changing ideas. The

following comment of a female clerk summarized this point

of view: “We are going through too many changes at the same

time and also on a continuous basis, once you get one side 

right, another change happens in the business that inf luence

everything and you are just getting tired of this constant adoption

to new changes”.

Continuous business change was not addressed in the 

SAP Steering Committee minutes although it was referred 

to in the IM report stating that people regarded changes 

as happening too frequently and that a new management

whim would soon surface again. This topic was found in 

all the research participants’ accounts. It was only the 

people in the IM department that felt that the changes in 

the business did not affect them so much. This could 

perhaps be explained by their being part of the change

implementation process.

Business Process Design

When inspecting the material solicited from the end-users,

two main concerns stood out. First, when implementing an

integrated system it is necessary to define and clarif y business

processes across functional hierarchies. All the interviewees

were of the opinion that not enough was done to clarif y the

essence of the integrated business processes and subsequently

to redefine policies and procedures. The following excerpt

from a senior female business support member is

particularly illustrative:

“Business processes were not aligned in the beginning and it

was not really integrated. The technology gave structure to the

business processes and made it easier to identif y the areas in

the business process that needed enhancements or redesign.

The lessons learned are: define business processes from the

beginning in terms of the complete value chain taking the

integration points into account, involve all the departments

involved and detail e ver ything, involve all people, from

designing to testing and accepting the new solution. Also

policies and procedures must also be defined and documented

from the beginning.”

Second, the participants believed that the different functional

departments were only thoughtful of and focused on the

process that affected them directly and what was important to

their immediate environment. They did not take advantage of

the opport unit y to streamline or redesign processes to

facilitate and integrate process flow. Most of the issues

experienced with regard to the system after having gone live

had to do with these interdepartmental integration challenges.

As an ERP system, such as SAP, automates processes across

functional boundaries and processes, both the business and the

project team seriously neglected this area. A male line

manager who was also part of the initial project

implementation team put this as follows: 

“We made a mistake by tr ying to map the way the 

business was operating. We needed to define and clarif y the

business processes and rules and ensured that this was

documented. The rigidity that is now experienced with the

system can be overcome if we re-think and adjust our business

processes, this implies that the people in the business must get

involve and document their business processes. But because of

the level of people that gets involved with the implementation

solution a misalignment of the business becomes the truth 

and people are only concerned about their own processes 

and are not aware how they affect the rest of the business” 

(Our translation).

Business process design was also identified by the IM

investigation that was done, reported and published in January

2002. The SAP Steering Committee also identified this as an area

that needed to be addressed, but once again they were looking at

the IM department to provide a solution for competency level

improvement. From the first author’s experience, these two

issues caused the biggest challenges as the business processes

across functional areas did not truly integrate and neither were

business rules or processes properly documented from a

business perspective. This caused a lot of frustration,

miscommunication and misunderstanding at all levels affecting

the productivity of the system.

Technology Process

Project implementation process

Only one senior manager commented on this matter. The

remainder of the subjects did not find this topic relevant for

discussion since they believed that the process of project

implementation had been executed well. The female line

manager made the following comment: 

“The mindset for implementation was not right. This is 

the mindset of management that agreed to the project. 

They should have gone to the people, they should have 

initially spent more time on the buy in from the lower level

staff and this should have been done by management, not 

the project team. T-shirts, posters and communication was

nice, but did nothing to change the mindset and prepare 

people for this huge thing that was forced down on them it

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS 29



only helped to create awareness, but it did not look at the

target market. The project implementation team was

completely distant from the business and they never asked the

business what they want, they should have moved closer to 

the business.”

The project implementation process was not discussed in any of

the other data information resources, but it seems to have

validity in terms of the project implementation process and a

redesign of this process.

System characteristics

A feeling among the more senior members of staff who took part

in the research – again the lower levels subjects didn’t regard

system characteristics as important – was that more effort should

have gone into making people understand what the system was

all about. A senior male manager noted, “The system is user un-

friendly; if you process something incorrectly the process must be

reversed in sequence to solve it. This takes time and results in people

bypassing the system” (Our translation).

A female line manager noted the following: “In the first year the

system was seen as an inflexible system, people did not have enough

understanding of the functionality of the system and it was seen as

something that forced down rules. We should have had a more

psychological implementation instead of a technical implementation

explaining the philosophy of an ERP system and that this is more

advanced than just excel and word and e-mail. After a year of

working on the system this perception has diminished and people now

focus on where they can streamline or enhance the process”. 

From Beyleveld’s experience, we feel that the following two

possible explanations of the different views on the role of system

characteristics are fair: (i) the lower level participants are using

the system on a daily basis resulting in them being more at ease

with its functionalities, and (ii) senior management participants

do not understand the system since they are not actively

involved in it; consequently they still experience the system as

intimidating or overwhelming. The only unexpected findings

were those with regard to the project team member selection and

the project implementation process. Other than that, none of the

other comments were seen as unusual from the researcher’s

experience in the company and working with the system. 

In concluding this section it seems that the impact of a SAP

implementation has definite consequences on the underlying

culture of an organization. Organizations implementing an ERP

system should consider developing their silo-based culture to a

process orientated culture. This should be driven by a strong

leadership focus and engagement and supported by the creation

of solid business understanding and the development of the

necessary core business competencies and capabilities. This

would ensure a higher productivity as the system would be used

as a business management tool to drive business information

and thus assisting in strategic decision-making. (See Figure 1). 

DISCUSSION32

It is important to re-emphasize the explorative and (to some

extent) descriptive nature of the present study. Information was

obtained about how a group of end-users of a SAP

implementation at the Head Office of a particular South African

company in the Chemical Industry (and over a particular time

span) experienced this technological business innovation.

Employing qualitative methods of participant observation,

unstructured interviewing, and documentary sources, valuable

initial insight was obtained into the implementation process as

well as the resultant culture. 

It seems that the biggest impact was experienced in the area 

of people processes, followed by business and, finally 

by technology. It is clear from the findings that the impact 

of a SAP implementation has a significant impact on both 

the people and cultural issues of a business33. As Schneider

(1999) points out, implementing an ERP system is not 

about the technology but about reinventing the business 

and companies pay tremendous lip service to the people 

and cultural issues. From the study it is further clear that 

it was the experience of the subjects that the introduction 

BEYLEVELD, SCHURINK30

Figure 1: High level summary of core findings

32 In this final section, conclusions, which were inferred from the information gained from end users’ subjective views together with relevant existing research findings and scholarly views, are presented.

In addition, based on the process evaluation of the SAP R/3 implementation effected by the study, suggestions are made as to future implementation and/or productivity enhancement of this particular

technology. 33 As Laughling in Gunson and de Blasis (1999, p. 6) state: “ERP implementations do not fail because the applications do not work, they fail because the enterprise rejects them”.



of the SAP system had forced them to think differently 

not only about how they do their work but also about 

how the business is functioning. As Nel (2002) comments, 

the effect of technology has a profound impact on both the

organization and its behaviour and therefore the culture 

of the business.

Further, referring back to Schneider’s (1999) comment on

management paying lip service, all the research participants felt

that the lack of management involvement in the implementation

of the system during the project implementation and thereafter

did not contribute meaningfully in making the transition from

a silo based business approach to an integrated business

approach. Culture aspects were ignored and there was a lack of

management involvement in the implementation. This situation

led to the change process being a substantial contributor to the

constant conflict between the new processes and the old ones.

Donovan-Wright (2003) and Meyer and Botha (2000) refer to

this aspect and describe this as resulting in the system becoming

the driving force behind cultural change.

Organisational development and the fostering of a new way of

thinking and doing business and therefore a new business

culture, should start well in advance of project implementation.

Gunson and de Blasis (1999, p. 10) state: “One difficulty in

implementing ERP is this switch from a functional to a process

orientation, due to the fact that modules cut across traditional

departmental lines. There is a value to educating all stakeholders

not just end users – there is no right way to implement an ERP

system but that active and engaged leadership is vital”.

Leadership from top management and line management is

essential in driving the new culture emerging from the inherent

philosophy of an ERP system, by moving away from silo based

business thinking to integrated business functionality. It is clear

from the present study’s findings that management tended to

shy away from getting involved in the system not only during

implementation but also when using it to manage and control

their business processes. This inadequacy was due to a lack of

understanding of the system, resulting in them not being

proactive in adjusting the integrated business processes. Also,

the subsequent exclusion of the Human Resources Department

and specifically the Organisational Development function led to

the ERP system just becoming another IT project

implementation and not an enterprise implementation.

Taylor (1995) made it clear that the introduction of new business

processes has brought about a loss in productivity during the

first few months of an implementation. Axelrod (2000) points

out that new internal working relationships need to be created

to ensure a minimum lost in productivity. It is therefore clear

that involvement by leadership is of paramount importance.

Thus apart from a revisit of business processes, new roles and

responsibilities need to be developed. Davenport (1999) explains

that a continuous re-skilling of the right people capable of

performing computer tasks and managing information is

required to ensure acquiring the skills and knowledge for a

competitive advantage. Leana and Barry (in Gunson & de Blasis,

1999, p. 7) comment: “… organizations and individuals are

increasingly pursuing change in how work is organized, how it

is managed and who is carrying it out. The advantage of change

to the organization is the abilit y to quickly adapt to

environmental changes, explore new ideas or processes, reduce

fixed costs, and in the end have an advantage over competitors”.

They quote Laughlin who claims, “You will underestimate and

fail to appreciate the degree of change an ERP solution causes”

(1999, pp. 5–6).

From the preceding the following recommendations seem

apparent:

First, ownership from leaders is required; it must be

demonstrated by their commitment to the ERP system as 

the technology or innovation to drive business processes 

and information. Such expression will facilitate buy-in 

from the more junior levels in an organization and will, in

turn, result in less distressing clarification of system and

process related issues. Ownership of and commitment to 

the system by leaders should accelerate the distribution 

of information in the system that would result in system

stabilization and the smoother integration and alignment 

of business processes. 

Second, in order to drive performance and improvements,

management should ensure that they understand the

processes affecting them directly as well as the functioning

of the system. Due to the lack of management involvement,

the junior staff levels in the organization understand its

business and processes better. This state of affairs makes it

relatively easier for junior level staff to pull wool over the

eyes of their superiors.

Related to the preceding is the necessity for management to

manage the integrated business processes. To ensure continuous

performance and the support of the business by the system

without becoming its driving force, roles and responsibilities of

the respective actors need to be clarified. In addition, Key

Performance Areas (KPA)/Key Performance Indicators (KPI), which

are in line with the process, needs to be developed. Finally,

discipline needs to be enforced by documenting relevant business

rules and procedures. There is undoubtedly a need for leaders who

have vision and focus on continuous business improvement and

competitiveness to ensure a more successful ERP implementation.

Management should see system implementation as an enterprise

implementation and not an IM realization.

Third, due to the ERP system forcing a process of thinking

across functional hierarchies, it follows that there is a need for

understanding business processes better. Closely related to this

is the clarification of roles and responsibilities to ensure that all

actors understand the impact they have on process and how this

is affected by the system.

Fourth, in terms of the selection of implementation team

members, two points are of importance:

� The selection of business representatives. It is necessary to

appoint people from the business with the necessary

experience of the business processes they represent to the

project team. Although one interviewee indicated that such

individuals should be senior people the remainder believed

that they should be people who have experience of the

relevant business processes since this will ensure credibility

and ultimate acceptance of the technical solution developed

to represent the business process.

� Technical consultants. They should be people that

understand both business and the system. Furthermore,

consultants should have the ability to understand the 

true requirement of business and not forcing down a

technical solution only they understand. Put differently,

consultants should have the abilit y to find technical

solutions to the core needs of the business; to facilitate a

solution that is suitable to the business. The end users 

that took part in the study believed that the consultants use

mostly a technical jargon that individuals working in

business generally don’t understand. This often results in

proposed solutions that are technically clear to the

consultant but don’t necessarily reflect the core business

process and/or need.

Fifth, training in ERP systems should focus broadly on two

levels. The integrated business process overview

understanding and consideration must be given to a business

simulation to demonstrate this and in addition it must focus

on cross-functional areas. Furthermore, training should

include individuals from the different functional areas

representing a complete value chain. Only once this

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS 31



understanding has been acquired should the focus turn to the

transactional training of the system i.e. how to capture the

data on the system.

As far as business process design is concerned, it seems

necessary to consider the importance of internal business

process clarification where current processes should not

merely be mapped onto the system. These processes should be

revisited and seriously questioned to establish if a redesign of

business processes should not be considered instead of merely

just mapping existing processes that are not necessarily

effective for an integrated business management tool.

Finally, once processes have been clarified, they should be

documented (particularly their governing business rules and

policies). Such documentation should allow for better

understanding and should assist in procedures where business

processes – both in the business and with regards to the system

– have to be enhanced. In addition, there should be a greater

focus on training people who work on the system so as to

understand the organization’s business processes and

especially how the ERP system is linked to these. There seems

to be a real need to explain the philosophy and methodology

of an ERP system in more detail upfront during project

implementation.

While this exploration of the subjective experiences of end-users

of SAP technology at a particular business in Gauteng, South

Africa, has various implications for other business both locally

and abroad experiencing technological implementation, the

following are particularly evident: 

� Scientific/academic implications. With regard to the 

local field of (human resources management/organization/

leadership/information management studies), this study has

made modest theoretical and methodological contributions.

As far as theory is concerned, the facilitation of social

constructionist theoretical constructs provides a first

exposure of the social and cultural impact of SAP R/3

systems on a local organization. It illustrates the great

potential locked up in theoretical concepts that elucidate

how people construct and assign significance to realities and

problems in their everyday work situations. Furthermore,

this insight in concrete experiences and perspectives of

authentic people holds promise for the development of

skills, and capabilities required by SAP R/3 system end

users. The methodological contribution of the present

study lies first and foremost in: providing a framework by

means of which qualitative and ethnographic methods in

the local HRM/IS fields can be applied to generate non-

statistical information on leaders’ and other role players’

subjective experiences and perspectives. It is conceivable

that further practical experience with this unstructured

approach could made at least a humble contribution to the

methodolog y of local leadership and related human

resource management st udies. While the procedures

followed in the study need to be explicated somewhat more,

they provide parameters for a toolkit for qualitative

programme evaluation, which is a fast developing area in

the country (Schurink, 2003g) 

� Practical contribution. The practical implications of the

study for local organizations exposed to technological

innovation are varied. Firstly, a model was developed 

to effect management change focusing on ERP

implementations and not emphasizing technological

implementation, but taking into consideration the 

wider organisational development dynamics. Secondly,

having constructed a competency matrix for ERP system 

end users for a particular local company provides a 

baseline that could be adjusted to the specific situation 

and needs of other companies, which implement ERP

systems. Finally, the present study offers a cultural model 

to local companies wishing to develop, or already

implementing ERP systems.

As this st udy focused on the impact of organisational 

culture in a particular Chemical Industry company, it is

foreseen that the results would be relatively easy to 

assimilate and apply to other companies in South Africa 

and abroad, owing to the dynamics of the SAP R/3 system 

that essentially stays the same no matter where it is

implemented. Therefore, we are of the opinion that

information and insights gained from the study with regard to

organisational cult ure and its influence on change and

leadership can be adopted with no real trouble for specific

organizations and their environment. 

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