Standardization and organizational change : Standardized ERP systems: a business development and change limitation?

Abstract: When adopting standardized ERP systems organizations also adopt standardized processes. These processes are integrated in the organization. The integration of standardized business processes redefines the business while standardization also leads to more indistinguishable business processes. Standardization is a prominent property of SAP ERP. When organizations implement SAP they also implement the SAP way of doing business. The research question is based on a consideration whether increased standardization, as part of SAP ERP, may limit the organization’s possibility to change.To examine the question the thesis use interviews with a business organization and SAP consultants as well as document studies. The results of the empirical work point to the fact that standardization is not limiting opportunity to change. Rather standardization is viewed as a necessary structure that is more of an organizational change enabler than a limiter. The enabling view of standardization is a consistent finding from the empirical study.