The Mediating Role of Absorptive Capacity in Knowledge Transfer: ERP implementations in small and medium sized enterprises in sub-Sahara Africa
Femi Adisa* Department of IT & Management, Copenhagen Business School Howitzvej 60.3., 2000 Frederiksberg – Denmark
[email protected] Phone: +45 2033 7605
Jeremy Rose Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University Selma Lagerløfs Vej 300, 9220 Aalborg - Denmark
[email protected]
* Corresponding Author
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Biographical Notes Femi Adisa is a PhD Fellow at the Department of IT and Management at the Copenhagen Business School. He has an MSc in Information Technology from the University of Turku. He is also affiliated with the ICT4D center of Southern University A&M College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His research interests include ERP systems in the SME domain, Software-as-a-Service, and ICT for development. He is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:
[email protected]
Jeremy Rose is Associate Professor at the Department of Computing Science, Aalborg University, Denmark. He has worked with the PITNIT, SPV and DISIMIT research projects in Denmark, and in a variety of engaged research and consulting roles. His research interests are principally concerned with IT and organizational change, IT and societal change, the management of IT, and systems development. He has published in management, systems, eGovernment and information systems journals and conferences and is associate editor at Communications of the AIS, Information Technology and People and Systems, Signs and Actions. He was the founding director of the Centre for eGovernance at Aalborg University and a member of the steering committee for the Demo-Net European network of excellence.
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ABSTRACT Knowledge transfer between consultants and organizational users influences the outcomes of an Enterprise Resource System (ERP) implementation. Configuration and implementation tasks are dependent on generating some level of shared understanding of both business practices and technology. These problems become acute in implementations in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs often operate with non-standard business processes, making an effective interchange of process knowledge between consultants and end-users crucial. Using a multiple case study method and content analysis, we investigate the mediating role of absorptive capacity in knowledge transfer in SMEs ERP implementations. We present exploratory case studies from 3 Nigerian companies with varying outcomes, and hypothesize that knowledge transfer is complicated by acute information asymmetry, absence of pre-existing related knowledge and consequent difficulties in developing a shared understanding, and by a tendency to operate with lone consultants and lone organizational representatives. Key words: ERP, Absorptive capacity, information asymmetry; knowledge transfer; SMEs, subSaharan Africa.
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INTRODUCTION As the market for large multi-national companies becomes satiated, traditional ERP giants are focusing on the Small-to-Medium-Enterprises (SMEs) in an attempt to gain market share. However they often operate with models developed for large organizations - one-solution-fits-all systems embodying common business processes and best practices along industry verticals. SMEs are distinct, varied, and gain much of their competitive advantage by tailoring their processes to their customers’ needs. This means they have unique requirements that cannot easily be standardized. Studies have shown that SMEs prefer systems that best fits their current business processes when selecting an information system (Everdingen et al. 2000) - though they often lack the capability to properly articulate these requirements (Davis 1989). They typically expect full functionality out-ofthe box, without the complexities of tailoring their own business processes and without steep learning curves. There is a potential for any vendor that succeeds in satisfying these elusive expectations. In the absence of such flexibility, or the emerging dominance of a single provider most vendors have resorted to acquisitions and solution-centric ecosystems of partner networks to deliver last-mile solutions (Forrester 2007; Antero and Riis 2011). One critical challenge in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems implementation has been to identify the gaps between an ERP system’s generic functionalities and the specific organizational requirements of adopting organizations (Soh et al. 2000). ERP consultants play a significant role in ERP implementations (Markus and Tanis 2000) and will typically outnumber IS specialists on ERP mixed project teams (Bancroft et al. 1998). Their ability to effectively map the underlying functionalities contained within the ERP software to the business processes of the adopting organization and effectively transfer this knowledge in such a way that users can seamlessly and unobtrusively assimilate the system into their daily routine is crucial to achieving a successful ERP implementation outcome. It can therefore be argued that a first step to achieving this will depend on the consultants’ absorptive capacity (Cohen and Levinthal 1990) - their ability to fully comprehend the business practices of the adopting organization. However, whilst the consultant primarily possess technical knowledge, the client is the main source of detailed knowledge of organizational practice and business process (Rus and Lindvall 2002). This knowledge asymmetry can be problematic as it creates a barrier that can inhibit both implementation and adoption (Attewell 1992). This barrier is exacerbated in SMEs, which both display idiosyncratic organizational and management models (Ordanini 2006; Cartman and Salazar 2011), and lack resources for training, implementation and organizational development. They also lack specialized IT personnel, capable of understanding the underlying technology and modifying it to suit individualized requirements, and user IT competences can also be weak. In these situations the consultant’s ability to identify, exploit, and apply new knowledge originating from the adopting organization, and adapt to distinct organizational practices in their clients becomes even more important. Equally important is the client’s ability to assimilate knowledge of the technical content of the ERP together with its implied business processes, and adapt their own business process in the light of this learning. The SMEs sector of the ERP systems market in Africa exhibits a tendency that further compounds the problem of knowledge asymmetry - a shortage of ERP consulting expertise. Consulting firms often contract lone, freelance ERP consultants to implement systems in the SME segment. Though they may have a good technical understanding of the platforms they implement, they seldom have wide experience in the industry sectors of some clients. Instead they crisscross industry verticals in a manner that is uncommon in the West; ERP consultants in the West are typically vertical specific – they specialize in a particular industry sector. This means that over time, they accumulate
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valuable knowledge about the essential processes and business practices within a vertical, and can draw on this knowledge when challenges arise. The potential impact of this strategy can have wide theoretical and practical implications since SMEs technology adoption patterns exhibit large variance when compared to larger firms. Using standardized frameworks and lenses developed for large organizations can be inappropriate and may even be counter-productive (Ordanini 2006). This study is primarily concerned with the mediating role of absorptive capacity in knowledge transfer between organizational representatives and ERP consultants with regards to their ability to dynamically acquire, assimilate, transform, and exploit new knowledge in such a way as to lead to a successful ERP system outcome. Prior studies have focused on the user organization’s difficulties in assimilating the new technology. Ko et al. (2005) suggests that future research look at knowledge transfer from clients to consultants; few studies have focused on the bilateral impact of information asymmetry on the outcome of ERP systems implementation. We investigate ERP outcomes in 3 Nigerian SMEs carried out by lone freelance consultants unfamiliar with an industry sector and mainly inexperienced host organizations. The research questions posed in the study are: • •
What role does absorptive capacity play in knowledge transfer in ERP implementations in SMEs? How do absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer affect the outcomes of ERP implementations?
The rest of this paper is structured as follows. The next section outlines the theoretical model used in the research, followed by research method, presentations of the three featured cases, analysis and discussion and conclusions.
THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY IN KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER FOR ERP IMPLEMENTATIONS: Theoretical Background and Research Model Absorptive capacity (Cohen and Levinthal 1990) is the ability to identify, value, and apply new knowledge. This can be understood as a broad set of skills needed to deal with the tacit component of transferred knowledge and the need to modify this imported knowledge (Mowery and Oxley 1995); the learning capacity to assimilate knowledge for imitation; and problem-solving skills to create new knowledge for innovation (Kim 1998). The literature on absorptive capacity is based on the seminal work of Cohen and Levinthal (1990), which focuses on the cognitive basis of an individual’s ability to grasp and exploit external knowledge. A firm’s absorptive capacity can consequently be determined by the aggregation of its members’ capacity. Several studies have employed absorptive capacity to investigate organizational phenomena that span multiple levels of analysis particularly in the area of innovation (see Zahra and George (2002) for a condensed summary). Zahra and George offered a re-conceptualization of absorptive capacity by synthesizing three important dimensions of absorptive capacity: • • •
The ability to identify, value, and apply new knowledge (Cohen and Levinthal 1990) The human capital, i.e. broad skills set, trained personnel (Mowery and Oxley 1995) The prior knowledge base; intensity of effort (Kim 1998)
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They also identified four organizational capabilities that complement one another to produce absorptive capacity: the acquisition, assimilation, transformation, and exploitation of knowledge. These they argue, confer a dynamic capability that influences a firm’s ability to create and deploy the knowledge necessary to implement new IS successfully and build complementary organizational capabilities. Absorptive capacity has also been employed in the study of technology adoption; for example Teo et al. (2003) examined its effect on organizational predisposition towards adopting financial electronic data interchange (FEDI) systems by examining the causal pathway through which absorptive capacity affects an organization’s intent to adopt. In the ERP field, absorptive capacity has influenced several studies of the knowledge transfer process during implementation (Ko et al. 2005; Park et al. 2007; Wang et al. 2007). These studies mainly focus on the absorptive capacity of the adopting organization and its ability to understand, assimilate, and apply ERP knowledge transferred from the consultant. A developing consensus points to the moderating role of absorptive capacity in an organization’s abilities to manage ERP knowledge during implementation. Ours will be the first study to look at the transfer of knowledge from the organization to the consultant and the mediating role of absorptive capacity in such a transaction.
Information asymmetry Knowledge sharing and integration are a key component of information systems and especially ERP projects, involving both an organizational reengineering component and a technological configuration component (Pan et al. 2007). However this often leads to a problem of information asymmetry, where consultants hold technical knowledge and knowledge of standardized practice supported by the ERP system, and organization members hold knowledge of local business processes and practices. Inexperienced consultants may have little knowledge of practice variations and idiosyncrasies in the target organization, whereas inexperienced users have little understanding of what is involved in systems configuration and implementation. This information asymmetry creates barriers that inhibit the adoption of complex technologies (Attewell 1992), by leading to missed opportunities to contribute vital domain knowledge at critical points in the implementation process (Lucas 1984), or the articulation of information in esoteric jargons that may be inconsistent with the terminology that the other party uses and understands (Keen 1988). These configuration and assimilation barriers (Robey et al. 2002) pose significant challenges for knowledge sharing and integration over the duration of an ERP project lifecycle.
Pre-existing related knowledge Absorptive capacity is dependent on pre-existing related knowledge acquired through diversity of background (Cohen and Levinthal 1990). Pre-existing related knowledge confers an ability to recognize the value of new information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends. Prior information and knowledge (Pisano 1994) constitute an important basis for the creation of new knowledge that will facilitate the configuration of the ERP system and the design and assimilation of new organizational processes. Especially relevant in the situation of information asymmetry are the previous experiences of the consultant in similar organizations (particularly in the same industry sector), and the users’ experiences with previous administrative and financial IT systems and their implementation.
Shared understanding Nelson and Cooprider (1996) suggest building a common language as a first step in going beyond the informational briefing stage of the consultant-adopter relationship. Shared understanding represents the extent to which the work values, norms, philosophy, problem-solving approaches,
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and prior work experience of consultants and users are similar (Nelson and Cooprider 1996; Gerwin and Moffat 1997). This shared knowledge must be expressed in words or symbols that are common to the social domain of both groups (Zeleny 1989). Barriers to understanding and acceptance between consultant-adopter are minimized and both groups increase their ability to work toward a common goal (Churchman and Schainblatt 1965; Krauss and Fussell 1990; Nelson and Cooprider 1996).
Potential and realized knowledge Absorptive capacity mediates knowledge transfer by determining how potential knowledge (relevant knowledge possessed by one party) can be transferred such that it can be acquired and assimilated (Lane and Lubatkin 1998) by the other party in such a way as to promote shared understanding and allow its transformation and exploitation; thus becoming realized knowledge, in essence reflecting a firm’s capacity to leverage the absorbed knowledge (Zahra and George 2002). In an ERP implementation, knowledge transfer can be said to have taken place when consultants understand local organizational business practice well enough to configure and implement appropriately, or when users realize consultants’ technical knowledge and successfully assimilate the implemented system.
Organizational knowledge distribution Knowledge transfer (especially on the organizational side) is complicated by the diversity and spread of knowledge (Grant 1996; Pan et al. 2007). Knowledge distribution across the firm pose significant barriers to knowledge transfer within the firm; Szulanski (1996) termed it internal stickiness. Some studies of ERP implementation (Grant 1996; Huang et al. 2001; Newell et al. 2003) focus on the processes and structures through which functionally dispersed and differentiated knowledge is accessed, shared and, combined.
Relationship with implementation outcomes Effective knowledge transfer is usually associated with positive ERP implementation results (Aladwani 2002; Ko et al. 2005) and absorptive capacity is positively related to knowledge transfer (Galbraith 1990; Hamel 1991). For example Park et al (2007) examine the effect of absorptive capacity of users on their ERP use and argue that the user’s ability to assimilate and apply ERP knowledge has both direct and indirect effects on derived value, and ultimately influences firm performance.
Research model Figure 1 summarizes the mediating role of absorptive capacity in knowledge transfer in ERP implementations. The absorptive capacity of a recipient or their ability to recognize, value, and exploit new knowledge for commercial gains is dependent on the ability to relate the received knowledge to pre-existing related knowledge. For potential knowledge to be realized, consultants and users need to overcome the barriers of information asymmetry by communicating knowledge in a form that is common to both their social domains. Successful knowledge transfer is associated with positive implementation outcomes.
[insert figure 1 here] Figure 1: The mediating role of absorptive capacity during knowledge transfer in an ERP implementation
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RESEARCH DESIGN The 3 cases presented here represent a subset of data from a wider dataset of empirical data (comprising of both formal and informal interviews with ERP consultants and user organizations, documentation analysis, observation, news archive) that was collected in Nigeria between March 2011 and March 2012, as part of an exploratory study to investigate ERP systems adoption in a subSaharan African context. The aim was to uncover particularities in adoption patterns and implementation techniques of ERPs, dictated by the social and environmental factors of the region. Exploratory, open-ended interviews that employed an iterative design (each round informing the next) were used, enabling the flexibility to exploit new insights emerging from the data (Rubin and Rubin 2005). Uncovering the how and why of the dynamics within a socially constructed context (Eisenhardt 1989; Walsham 1993), requires an approach that will allow the results to be grounded in the empirical - consistent with our overall goal and data collection. The multiple case approach allows for data analysis both within and across cases (Yin 2003). Using case studies in new areas of enterprise systems implementation research also provides an excellent opportunity for preliminary input into a variety of issues (Arnold 2006). Nigeria presents an ideal location from which to look at a sub-Saharan African (SSA) context, because it is a fairly representative microcosm of the multi-ethnic diversity of most countries in SSA, united by one lingua franca for transacting business. It is also SSA’s second largest economy after South Africa - which it is predicted to overtake by 2025 (Morgan Stanley 2011) - where a majority of businesses are micro or small and medium scale enterprises. For the purpose of this study, we adopt the small and Medium Enterprises Development agency of Nigeria’s (SMEDAN) classification of an SME as any enterprise that employs between 10 and 199 people, or with assets below 3.5million USD.
Case selection Case selection from the larger dataset follows a theoretical replication logic (Eisenhardt and Graebner 2007; Yin 2009) where cases are identified based on selection criteria – in this case to cover a variety of implementation outcomes (good outcome, mixed outcome, poor outcome). Comparability between cases is ensured by a set of shared factors: all three organizations were SMEs, they had implemented SAP BusinessOne within the 2 years prior to the study, and the implementation was carried by lone freelance consultants in an industry sector in which they had little previous experience.
Data collection Data collection consisted of a combination of interviews with the relevant stakeholders and supplemented with information gathered from company websites (where available). Stakeholders included adopting organizations and ERP consultants, both freelancers and employees of consulting firms. A total of 30 interviews were conducted overall; the initial interviews were exploratory and open-ended and their main purpose was to inform and orientate. They included general questions about technological, organizational, and environmental challenges about their ERP system. Each interview with primary sources lasted about an hour and about 20 minutes on average for secondary sources - mainly other users of the ERPs. In small enterprises in SSA implementation is usually centred on very few people, revolving around the financial controller (FC), who are able to provide extensive information about organizational processes and practices. FCs were therefore identified as principal sources for data collection; they also identified relevant personnel as secondary sources of information.
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Data analysis The interviews were transcribed and then systematically read. Empirical analysis of the data was done using content analysis (Krippendorff 2004). Absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer were integrated into an overall framework that provided a theoretical lens for analyzing the data. They were selected retroactively as they provided the best means of accounting for the emergent themes emanating from the empirical data. This retroactive approach of matching already existing theory to already collected data during systematic analysis is consistent with content analysis (Krippendorff 2004). It proffers an inductive approach consistent with our overall aim of uncovering fresh insights that are locally grounded and also consistent with our use of exploratory, open-ended interviews. The constituent elements of our framework (pre-existing related knowledge; potential and realized knowledge; shared-understanding; information asymmetry; organizational knowledge distribution) served as codes that were subsequently matched with the emergent themes during the systematic reading of the empirical data. Our findings are grounded in the empirical data as they are based on themes that emerged in the course of systematic analysis rather than being predetermined by an initial theory.
ERP IMPLEMENTATIONS IN SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIA: THREE CASES African Truckers African Truckers is a logistics company that deals in the transportation and haulage of containers from ports to client warehouses. Their clients are mostly large manufacturing firms importing raw materials from abroad. It employs about 100 employees with an average turnover of around 2 million USD. Process efficiency and timely access to information is at the core of their business strategy. The company has a fleet of 40 trucks, reduced from over a 100 trucks after recent reorganization. The owner and managing director (MD) is a Lebanese national, who takes most of the major decisions. The current financial controller (FC) is also an expatriate (of Pakistani origin). He had five years of experience as an accountant in three companies in Nigeria before joining African Truckers in March 2010. His experience with business software prior to joining the company was with QuickBooks and Peachtree accounting software packages. He sees to the dayto-day running of the organization and reports directly to the managing director. African Truckers’ ERP journey began in 2009, when they implemented SAP BusinessOne to replace Microsoft Excel. The decision was the MD’s and they bought 5 user licenses. The company did not feel they had the necessary implementation capability in-house, and invited an external accountant with prior experience with working with SAP to be the spokesperson for the organization and liaise with the ERP consultant. The accountant had recently taken up a post with another logistics company (MPZ) in the transportation and haulage business - though his knowledge of this sector turned out to be limited. The implementation was completed in December of 2009. The company struggled with the new accounting system and at first unable perform basic tasks such as the generation of invoices. By March 2010, when the current FC took over, there were over 4 months backlog of entries to the new system. He received 3 days SAP training from the consultant who implemented the system. He was also new to haulage industry; nine months later, he was still trying to catch up and had to work through his Christmas and New Year breaks. Further difficulties centred on company-unique processes, for example generating invoices in non-standard formats required by specific clients, or tracking and accounting disputes with their diesel suppliers about
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differences between invoiced and actual deliveries. Such cases were handled in parallel Excel spreadsheets until they were resolved or the invoices closed, before inputting them into SAP. The company would not put the blame for their current ERP outcome on the consultant - instead opting to share it. In their analysis the company was unable to articulate what they wanted from the system when it was implemented. The consultant was to blame for not developing a thorough understanding of their business - as a result failing to set up fundamental and essential functions. Insufficient training and a lack of follow-up were further explanations for their assimilation issues. The company has no doubt that the ERP system has the capability to fully support their business processes go. They rued the missed opportunity to effectively align their unique processes with those embodied in the system, and wished there was a cheap and non-disruptive way that the ERP system could be overhauled and reinstalled. They feel that they now understand what they want and are in a position to better communicate their needs to the consultant and guide a reimplementation to a more successful outcome.
MPZ Logistics MPZ logistics is also a transportation and haulage company that specializes in moving shipping containers from the ports to client warehouses. It was founded in 2009 and employs 195 employees, made up of around 120 drivers, 45 mechanics and engineering staff and 30 staff in HR and admin. It has a fleet of 115 trucks and transports about 1000 containers per month. MPZ Truckers is also expatriate-owned and is part of a network of companies, whose parent company invests in various sectors of the Nigerian economy, including one that is the local authorized dealer for Hewlett Packard and Nokia. MPZ’s main business objectives are process efficiency and effective coordination (facilitated by timely access to quality information) to ensure prompt delivery of client cargoes. At the behest of the financial controller - who was head-hunted to join the company at inception - the company decided to adopt an ERP system to help realize their business objectives. The company considered QuickBooks and Peachtree accounting packages, but for consistency reasons chose SAP BusinessOne. The FC’s past experience was with SAP, and MPZ’s parent company also runs it. The organization does not have a dedicated IT budget per se - IT investments are assessed on a basis of need - so they started by buying 5 user licenses. The FC spent his first two months at MPZ using Microsoft Excel to support his daily transactions. During this same he also became the external implementation expert for SAP BusinessOne at African Truckers. Though this implementation did not go well, the FC benefitted immensely from the experience gained. By the time of MPZ’s implementation he was able to determine exactly what his organization wanted from the ERP system. His previous experiences with SAP contributed to the shared understanding between him (the interface for the organization) and the consultant, who was making his first implementation in a logistics firm. The organization rates their assimilation of the ERP systems into their daily work routines as “perfect” and believes the software is helping them meet their business objectives. They describe their implementation as smooth, and rarely find the need to call in the consultant for support. They experience the software as very user-friendly; most users in the organization have prior exposure to either SAP or some other accounting software and they believe this has helped them adjust quickly. The organization feels challenged however in the generation of queries for special types of reports, and they believe this could be improved if they had someone with more technical knowledge.
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Digiprints Digiprints is the leading graphics design and digital branding company in Nigeria - a multi-million dollar investment that was incorporated in Nigeria in February 2002. It pioneered new age graphics design and printing on different kinds of media in the Nigerian market. They specialize in printing on many kinds of surfaces: screen, large format, direct imaging, offset, prepress, computer to plate. They work with branding of events, office buildings, vehicles, trolleys, fridges, billboards and event lighting. Digiprints’ initial value proposition to the Nigerian market was digital printing, but they soon discovered that they could do more for their clients through partnering with them to make their products more attractive and helping to rebrand their businesses. Now they see their clients as partners and actually help to reposition them whenever such clients want to re-launch anything. They also take a proactive stance sometimes and sell concepts to their clients. This generated a lot of business for Digiprints and cemented their place as market leaders in the mid 2000’s. However, with the entrants of new players and a perceived loss of focus under the then management, the company saw its position, market share and profit margin eroded. Now under a new management, Digiprints is repositioning itself and is placing customer intimacy at the center of its strategy. The company is also owned by an expatriate and currently employs around 112 employees (after a period of restructuring in December 2010 where it shed about 55 per cent of the workforce it employed at the height of its boom). Digiprints’ business is heavily reliant on information technology. Computers form the backbone of their operations; the company supported its administrative and financial transactions with Peachtree accounting software up until May 2009, when (in anticipation of a huge boom in transaction volume), the company decided to upgrade their accounting package to a more robust system. The decision to upgrade to an ERP system and the subsequent selection of SAP BusinessOne was taken solely by the managing director (MD). During the course of their ERP implementation, 2 separate consultants were used in succession; a consultant from an ERP consulting firm replaced the freelance consultant who started the project. However, both were carrying out their first implementation in this industry segment. The implementation took between 6 to 8 weeks to complete and was finished in May 2009. The employees at Digiprints were unable to assimilate the ERP into their daily routines. They found the system too complicated and could not generate the reports that received from their previous accounting package. They found themselves running Microsoft Excel in parallel and the ERP system was relegated to the background. Eight months after the implementation of the ERP system, a new financial controller took over at Digiprints. He had worked with SAP before and was part of their implementation team when his previous company migrated to SAP. However, even with his previous experience, the new FC found the system very cumbersome to use. He also realized that his employees had all but deserted the system. They also felt abandoned by the consultants, who, according to them, provided inadequate training and left them with no follow up after implementation. Realizing that things could not continue the way they were, the FC expressed his concern to management and put forward 2 options: a) carry out a re-implementation of the system or b) change the software. The management mandated him to resolve it the way he deemed best but to be wary of costs. The FC surveyed the staff asking if they wanted to be retrained for SAP or if they wanted a change of software. 93% voted for change and when asked to pick from a list of possible software packages, everyone picked their old system. In July 2010, the company reverted to Peachtree, albeit a newer version.
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KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AND ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY IN SME ERP IMPLEMENTATION In this section we present four inter-related findings from the case study analysis, concerning acute knowledge asymmetry, pre-existing related knowledge, shared understanding as a pre-requisite for knowledge transfer and single source knowledge interfaces.
Acute information asymmetry Acute information asymmetry arises in an ERP implementation when knowledge that is crucial to achieving a successful outcome is concentrated in one party, who either through omission or commission is unable to convey it to the other. The asset register [which is very important in this line of business] is not there. Right, I will not say that it is the consultant’s mistake. I will say that it is our mistake [by not specifying this requirement]… it is very important. Now I want to run my P&L [profit and loss] statement but I cannot. (Financial Controller, African Truckers, Interview #1) Here failure to convey a very important function to the consultant contributed to African Truckers’ predicament. Lopsided concentrations of knowledge (typically with technical knowledge of ERP functions focused with the consultant and business operating process knowledge focused in individuals in the adopting organization), presents a barrier to achieving a successful ERP outcome by restricting the absorptive capacity of both parties. This is exhibited in the case organizations where their representatives lacked a firm grasp of the incoming information systems’ functions, and how this functionality relates to their routine tasks. Understandably, they found it difficult to know what to select when presented with a requirements specifications document: …that also depends on where you come from, with me and with all that paper, if I don’t know exactly what I want or what that system does, then of course I will miss a lot of things. It’s only when you’re using it that you will understand. (Financial Controller, African Truckers, Interview #1) Where the consultant also lacked the vertical experience necessary to effectively guide the requirement elicitation, what followed were adverse selection and matching of system and functional business processes. Failure to recognize and set up basic vital functions at African Truckers and Digiprints resulted in an inability to retrieve precisely targeted information from the system; a constant source of frustration for end users in both organizations. …what I met concerning SAP is that the implementation was not properly done at all! So we couldn’t get what we wanted from the system… I don’t want to be doing Excel again to generate my reports, and if I need any report I should just click a button and load my report… And I should be able to use the system to equally design what I want sometime. But that is not what we are getting from it, because I don’t think they did proper implementation. (Financial Controller, DigiPrints, Interview #3) ... we generate LPO [local purchase order] with it, but there’s no proper link between that and vendors accounts… when I want to generate my report, I have to click… if you download a report, it will just say transaction number, number, and the amount. What they are meant to do, you cannot see; except you double click again to drill
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down. So that’s not what it’s supposed to be. (Financial Controller, DigiPrints, Interview #3) African Truckers and Digiprints attributed most of their struggles with the new system to inadequate training by the consultant. However, we can infer that this knowledge asymmetry compounded by vertical inexperience in the sectors (Logistics, Printing) restricted their level of absorptive capacity by limiting their ability to train end users (who were themselves new to the system) to identify key routines and assumptions built into the ERP system and understand how they relate to or substitute current processes: I ask him [the ERP consultant], I need this report. I showed him, [Majid] send me that report... I asked Mr. Bode, I need this report... I’m not sure what went wrong, but he tried, tried to find out, he couldn’t get it, [he said] he’d check in his office how to get that report and get back to me. The moment he left I said ok let me try myself. After… 20 minutes I wasted my time, I finally got that report. So those are the things I am saying we were not well-trained. (Financial Controller, African Truckers, Interview #1) Even the consultants were not helping because they were not supporting. After the implementation they just left us. (Financial Controller, DigiPrints, Interview #3) Acute information asymmetry impacts the mediating role of absorptive capacity when one party is unable to access and exploit knowledge that is held by the other party to the detriment of the ERP implementation. It depends on the value of, or about the amount of knowledge you are giving about your business to the consultants. If you are being open to them and telling everything to them it would be helpful for them to train your staff. But, if you are reaching up to a certain level and saying no, you are not concerned with the other things, then of course it will be difficult for them to… they can only train you on how to operate the system but to cope with the challenges you have in the industry and in your job, they cannot help you. (Financial Controller, African Truckers, Interview #1) Whereas some degree of information asymmetry is inevitable in every implementation, it exists to an extreme degree in implementations in SMEs in SSA as lone consultants crisscross industry verticals between companies with limited IT experience.
Pre-existing related knowledge: a precursory requisite for creating a shared understanding Prior related information and knowledge constitute an important basis for the creation of new knowledge that will facilitate the configuration of an ERP system and the design and assimilation of new organizational processes. This dimension of absorptive capacity confers the ability to relate the old to the new, thus forming the basis for a shared understanding between consultant and end users. Problem arises when ERP consultants crisscross industry verticals and are unable to draw from experience. The impact of a shared understanding (or lack thereof) on the ERP outcomes resonated throughout our focal organizations. At African Truckers, the consultant’s sector inexperience led to a mismatch of certain system functions to organizational processes, underscoring a lack of shared understanding.
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So after discussing the detailed analysis and requirement of the company I have given things to Bode [the lone consultant]... I told him that according to the trucks. Each truck is a cost center and a profit center. You have to design the chart of accounts accordingly and make sure what was the desired objective, we are getting it... Later on I came to know that there were some structural mistakes done by the SAP team, [Bode]. Instead of defining some chart of account expenses as a nature of expenditure he was defining it as an order or balance sheet items which was not giving them the better results… but it was a small mistake which was affecting the final output. (Financial Director of MPZ, Interview #5) In another instance we see how a lack of pre-existing related knowledge resulted in a crucial component not being implemented: [Seyi: an ERP consultant] so, truly speaking it’s not just your mistake, it’s also the consultant’s. He should not be asking you to implement it; he should implement it for you, Fixed Asset. It is very important in this business. (African Truckers, Interview #1) So, yes, you are right. It is part of our mistake and part of the consultant’s mistake. He was supposed to object [to] it [that] without assets register it will not work. (Financial Controller, African Truckers, Interview #1) Pre-existing related knowledge allows the consultant to identify areas where the users are likely to struggle and emphasize these during training, especially when users are inexperienced with IT. We can draw a correlation between when users believe they were not adequately trained (hindering the assimilation of the new ERP system) and the lack of vertical experience by the consultant: …the IT [department] oversaw everything. The finance people were not carried along. So it’s like, they don’t even know what I am doing, they just assume that they know…. another problem is that, the users, the end users were not trained... It’s after the implementation people are called: ok, guys, as from so, so date, we are changing our system to [SAP]. Now, sit with me let me show you how to post. … it could equally be that they [consultant] were not properly trained. (Financial Controller, DigiPrints, Interview #3) At the other end of the spectrum, we see how helping out with an SAP implementation at a similar organization enhanced MPZ’s absorptive capacity and helped them achieve success during its own implementation Actually, I have idea that how the logistic company works [from being involved at African Truckers’ implementation]. There were certain ideas which I was not able to implement in African truckers. I was having a free hand in MPZ to implement those structures so it helped me to implement that easily. I feel easier, more comfortable to implement those structures at MPZ than African truckers. (MPZ’s FC reflecting on his involvement with African Truckers ERP implementation and how it impacted his organization’s implementation, Interview #5). The Financial Controller is able to draw on his pre-existing related knowledge and compensate for the consultant’s lack of sector experience.
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Shared understanding as a precondition for effective knowledge exchange Shared understanding represents the extent to which the work values, norms, philosophy, problemsolving approaches, and prior work experience, are congruent between two parties. Shared experience removes barriers to understanding and acceptance, and enhances the ability to work towards a common goal and achieve favourable outcomes. Problems of acute information asymmetry could have been mitigated if there had been a reasonable level of shared understanding between the consultant and the adopting organization. MPZ attribute their favourable ERP outcome to the level of understanding that enabled the sharing of knowledge between the financial controller and the consultant: …then the most beautiful thing was that I was having a person [ERP consultant] who can understand me, who has better understanding of the system and he was appreciating the ideas and understanding the ideas, what I want, and he helped me to achieve that…The other consultant [whom he worked with at African Truckers], he was limited to his ideas. Maybe he was not getting me, what I wanted to do there. Sometimes there is a communication gap or maybe I have worked with Seyi [ERP consultant] for a long time… we worked almost 3 and a half year together… Maybe he understands my ideas and logics better than that consultant. That’s the reason we were successful in MPZ. (Financial Controller, MPZ, Interview #5) We also see how the lack of a shared understanding adversely affected knowledge transfer during African Truckers’ ERP implementation: So if you have knowledge of your industry, where you are implementing the system, of course your consultant can help you a lot. He can tell you what is best and what is wrong. But when you are not experienced… (Financial Controller, DigiPrints, Interview #3) Simply communicating facts proves to be insufficient in raising the level of shared knowledge. Mutual understanding must derives from a deeper level of shared organizational knowledge often creating a synergy of some sort between consultant and users.
Single source interfaces An approach to implementation that was consistent across the cases was the use of a single individual (the FC at MPZ and African Truckers) or department (IT department at Digiprints) to represent the organization and interface with the consultant. At Digiprints, the consultant gathered requirements and carried out implementation in conjunction with the IT department. It was not until after the system implementation that actual users and process owners were asked to verify processes and trained on how to post transactions: …it was after the implementation people are called: ok, guys, as from so, so date, we are changing our system to. Now, sit with me let me show you how to post …there should be a program as to what phase are we working on this time, that time. That was not there. It’s like, somebody just say, I love the package, go and get it. the IT… oversaw everything. The finance people were not carried along. … they don’t even know what I am doing, they just assume that they know. And they just copy whatever. And there was no parallel run, to actually see this and that, whether it’s getting, they just, switch over… (Financial Controller, DigiPrints, Interview #3)
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In other firms, the consultant gathered requirements for the new system from the financial controllers. Their rationale for this was that the FCs had a holistic overview of all organizational functions as everyone reported to them. As observed in African Truckers’ implementation: So to assemble everything, to collect the data from here, there and then start designing something which will be beneficial for the company. So we [ERP consultant and FC] started designing chart of accounts, then after designing chart of accounts we started, we decided about how it will be easier for the accountants to enter data and get the reports [emphasis ours]. When asked if end users or process owners were part of the implementation team: We defined it later. It was not there initially but we defined that somebody would be doing petty cash expenses, …handling suppliers, …stores and …doing bank transactions Q: Were those people involved in the preparations? They were trained how to enter data and how to use it according to their requirements. Q: That was after the training. Were these users involved to help in recreating, redefining this system, these processes? Not exactly. (MPZ’s FC contracted to oversee African Truckers ERP implementation, Interview #5). This oversimplification of the dynamics of the inner workings of an organization is fundamentally flawed, as it fails to take into account that most organizations – especially SMEs - function by means of informal communication both within and across departments. So while the FCs receive output or results at the end of the day, they are unlikely to be aware of the subcultural idiosyncrasies that arise from informal interactions and interpersonal relationships that characterize knowledge sharing in the accomplishment of cross functional processes. There is also the problems of internal stickiness (Szulanski 1996) and the barrier it poses to internal knowledge transfer, effectively making it more challenging to channel all organizational process knowledge through one individual or unit, to the consultant. Essential requirements will be missed and the consultant would have been long gone by the time users start to grapple with the new system and discovering which essential tasks they are unable to perform, or meaningful information they cannot retrieve from the system.
DISCUSSION This study examined the mediating role of absorptive capacity in knowledge transfer between source and recipient in the context of SME ERP implementation in SSA, particularly the use of lone freelance ERP consultants in an industry sector where they are inexperienced, and how it impacts the implementation outcome. We asked: • •
What role does absorptive capacity play in knowledge transfer in ERP implementations in SME’s? How do absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer affect the outcomes of ERP implementations?
Table 1 summarizes the main findings from the three cases.
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case African Truckers
knowledge transfer considerations outcomes Acute information asymmetry on both sides. Mixed outcomes: implementation Lack of pre-existing industry knowledge on is problematic, assimilation both sides. improves over time due to Little shared understanding. perseverance Single-source interfaces MPZ Moderate information asymmetry Favourable outcomes: system Truckers Pre-existing related knowledge of FC from assimilated previous implementation. Shared understanding created Single-source interfaces Digiprints Acute information asymmetry Implementation failure: poor Consultant lacks pre-existing industry requirements analysis, missing knowledge functionality, misalignment of No shared understandings of actual system and company, poor organizational practice assimilation, revert to earlier Single-source interfaces: IT department accounting system oversees implementation Table 1: Summary of knowledge transfer aspects and outcomes in the 3 cases In relation to our first research question, our findings show that pre-existing related knowledge was important to the recognition of new knowledge and the ability to value and exploit it for commercial gains. The negative consequences of inexperience of consultants in the relevant industry sector, and of company staff in different forms of business software and in software implementation in general can be seen in both the African Truckers and Digiprints cases. At MPZ Logistics, the relatively successful outcome was attributed partly to the previous implementation experience of the financial controller. Lack of pre-existing relevant knowledge exacerbates information asymmetry; not only do participants not start with important configuration knowledge, but they miss opportunities to ask the right questions and frame the knowledge they have in ways that the other participants can understand. Acute information asymmetry also hinders the creation of a mutual shared understanding based on words and symbols that are common to both social domains - which can create synergies that make implementation easier. The use of single source interfaces (particularly to the organization) also hinders transfer of knowledge: the consultant does not learn about the many idiosyncratic practices localised in the company, and company employees (other than the single source) do not learn anything about the system being implemented. Examples of basic configuration and implementation errors attributable to lack of pre-existing related knowledge, information asymmetry and consequent lack of shared understanding are evident at both African Truckers and Digiprints. We can see that the absorptive capacity of both consultants and organization are impaired as a result, and that knowledge transfer is weaker as a result of this impairment. The second question focused on implementation outcomes. African Truckers were left in a difficult position by the implementation, whereas Digiprints chose to revert to their previous systems. In both cases these outcomes are directly related to the knowledge transfer issues described in the previous paragraph. Poor requirements analysis leads to lack of basic system functionality to support the business, compounding other issues such as training and assimilation. A crucial factor in the relatively successful outcome of MPZ Truckers was the earlier experience of the FC which
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was the catalyst for the development of a better level of shared understanding enabling a more effective knowledge transfer.
CONCLUSIONS The study extends previous work on knowledge sharing in ERP implementation by theorising the mediating role of absorptive capacity in the knowledge transfer process. Earlier studies focused on the absorptive capacity of the adopting organization, rarely questioning the absorptive capacity of the consultant. However practice in SSA demonstrates widespread use of lone consultants inexperienced in the industry sectors they are working in - as evidenced by our cases. This necessitates a focus on a bilateral knowledge transfer perspective, where absorptive capacity mediates the transformation from potential to realised knowledge both from consultant to client, and vice versa. Such a bilateral perspective could be usefully adopted in other implementation contexts. The research model integrates elements from Cohen and Levinthal’s (1990) theory of absorptive capacity with knowledge factors identified in other studies such as shared understanding (Szulanski 1996) and information asymmetry (Akerlof 1970). It postulates a knowledge transfer effect on implementation outcomes that is confirmed both by earlier studies and our empirical dataset. We situate the study in the SMEs domain where firms face additional knowledge challenges: for example articulating requirements. The use of a single knowledge source compounds problems of internal stickiness (Szulanski 1996), which is a barrier to effective organizational learning. We further contribute exploratory case examples from sub-Saharan Africa, which are rare in the ERP literature (Adisa and Isabalija 2011). The cases exemplify cumulative patterns typical for SMEs implementations in emerging markets: acute information asymmetry, absence of pre-existing related knowledge and consequent difficulties in developing shared understanding, and a tendency to operate with lone consultants (and lone organizational representatives) which hinders knowledge transfer. The study has many implications for practice, since the use of lone freelance consultants could become widespread in emerging markets as ERP vendors delve into the SMEs domain, where financial resources are lean and consulting firms lack diverse expertise across SMEs sectors. The conditions under which such an arrangement might lead to successful outcomes need to be further explored. Managers at consulting firms need to better understand the degree of leverage that a consultant’s prior experience in a sector plays in achieving a successful outcome and insist on this when contracting freelancers. Creating a shared understanding between the ERP consultant and the client organization is an important step towards eliminating some barriers to the effective transfer of knowledge. This might require that both parties undergo an initial period of familiarization and that well-defined training and follow-up activities be planned and implemented at pre-defined intervals. Organizational understanding of the new system comes after a period of user engagement; because freelance consultants are usually contracted for a shorter period, the issue of follow-up becomes problematic. This needs to be built into contracting agreements from the onset. Another finding with practical implication is the tendency of consultants to collect requirements and knowledge about organizational processes and practice from a single source within the organization. We already highlighted the problem posed to knowledge transfer by the spread and diversity of knowledge within an organization. Consultants need to deal with process owners themselves to ensure that they capture critical processes and also involve important users early on to improve the overall chances of success. SMEs, unlike their larger counterparts, may fail to grasp the gravity of implementing a system that cuts across internal firm boundaries, and current implementation frameworks fail to take into consideration the distinct nature of most SMEs. Configuring an ERP is
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not only a technological exercise but an organizational one as well, and both consultants and organizations will need to focus on acute knowledge transfer issues in small-scale implementations. In addressing the limitations of the study it should be acknowledged that the empirical sample is small, though the cases are selected according to established principles (theoretical replication) for exploratory studies which enable cross-case analysis and analytic generalization (Yin 2003). We consider the setting exemplary, as it highlights particular problems in knowledge sharing in small company implementations that are likely to occur in most cultural settings. Many common problems are highlighted by the Sub Saharan context. However our findings should be treated as opening hypotheses for more extensive studies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their constructive and helpful comments and suggestions.
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Appendix: interviews referred to in the text Interview ID #1 #2 #3 #4 #5
Organization
Person responsible
Interview date
African Truckers MPZ logistics DigiPrints Plc. African Truckers MPZ logistics
Financial Controller Financial Director Financial Director Financial Controller Financial Director
03/2011 03/2011 04/2011 03/2012 03/2012
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