Challenges in enterprise resource planning implementation: state‐of‐the‐art

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an integrative and detailed review of the critical factors that cause enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation failures, based on an in‐depth literature review (1997‐2009). Design/methodology/approach – Keywords relating to the subject of this paper were defined, and used to search web engines and journal databases for papers on ERP implementation failures. These papers were further analysed and classified into various categories. Findings – Nine factors are found to be critical in the failure of ERP implementations: excessive customisation, dilemma of internal integration, poor understanding of business implications and requirements, lack of change management, poor data quality, misalignment of IT with business, hidden costs, limited training and lack of top management support. Research limitations/implications – The paper proposes the development of a framework to address each ERP implementation failure factor in its entirety based on the frequency of its occurrence in industry, as a topic for future research. Originality/value – The paper contributes to research in the ERP domain by highlighting ERP implementation challenges from a critical failure perspective and proportion of the failures, as opposed to presenting critical success factors. Failure factors with examples provides a clearer visibility of the costly damages that can be introduced into organisations in the event that these failures are ignored.