Process of social integration: The key to making enterprise systems-enabled change

Abstract

Most previous enterprise systems (ES) studies focus on the ES implementation issues or critical success factors without taking into consideration that complex relationship of reciprocal causality between technology and human factors would cause the failure of ES to meet organizational expectations or deliverance of values promised. In this study, we try to understand the concept of social integration (SI) through exploring the use of ES in supporting organizational daily operations. In our in-depth case study of Talam, 40 interviews were collected from a company with ten years of experience in the management and application of ES. We have successfully identified six social integration processes and three social integration mechanisms that help to explain the interrelationship of the dynamic nature of social integration.