Critical success factors for implementing enterprise portals : A comparison with ERP implementations

Purpose – The goal of this paper is to discuss critical success factors (CSF) for implementing enterprise portals by comparing them with CSF for ERP implementations. Design/methodology/approach – In order to identify and rank CSF for portal implementations, the paper followed a multi‐method design, following a two‐stage approach with the first stage analyzing the state‐of‐the‐art of portal implementation by interviewing portal integrators in Germany and a follow‐up stage with a focus on CSF, thereby identifying and analyzing the CSF for portal (implementation) projects in general and across project stages. Then the findings are compared with the results of a similar study on CSF in ERP (implementation) projects. Findings – When comparing CSF for portal projects with CSF of ERP projects, some similarities were found but also some differences with respect to top management support, project management, communication, selection of the software package and business process re‐engineering. Research limitations/implications – There are limitations with regard to the comparability of both studies as both studies used different samples. Practical implications – Based on these findings, measures to improve the engineering and management of portals can be proposed and developed. Originality/value – Up to now, there are neither detailed studies focusing on the identification and evaluation of CSF for portal projects nor studies that try to compare portal and ERP projects. The paper tries to fill this gap.