SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Business Administration
No 2005:3:
Consultant supported ERP implementation – a learning opportunity?
Andreas Werr ()
Abstract: Management consultants are often described as
accumulators, generators and disseminators of knowledge in the business
world. Little research has however been devoted to the extent to which and
the processes by which organizations hiring management consultants learn.
This issue is addressed in the current paper based on a study of a
consultant-supported ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) implementation
project. It is concluded, that projects in which consultants and employees
of the hiring organization interact extensively provide large opportunities
for individual learning. This learning is facilitated by the braking down
of organizational boundaries in the improvement project, enabling open and
intense interaction. Tensions were however observed between the improvement
project and employees in day-to-day operations. The collaboration in this
interface was more strained and thus impeded learning and knowledge
creation within the day-to-day business. These barriers between the
improvement project and the daily operations were created by the same
forces that created the open atmosphere between consultants and client
personnel in the project.
Keywords: Management Consulting; Learning; Knowledge transfer; ERP implementation; (follow links to similar papers)
25 pages, April 22, 2005
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