Critically Thinking About CSFs in Enterprise Systems

by Sue Newell, Gary C. David

Critical success factor (CSF) literature pays too much attention to formal processes and too little attention to how these processes are used in situated practices. Based on evidence from the situated learning theory perspective, authors Sue Newell and Gary C. David suggest that encouraging informal processes provides a useful complement to this literature. In this Executive Report, the authors utilize an exploratory case study of a large consultancy firm that implemented a major enterprise system across its global business to examine whether and why CSFs are difficult to sustain. They also make recommendations regarding how a situated learning perspective can benefit organizations that are implementing an enterprise system.