Enterprise Resource Planning and Knowledge Management Systems: An Empirical Account of Organizational Efficiency and Flexibility

Abstract

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and knowledge management (KM) promise organizations the benefits of enhancing competitiveness and continuous revitalization. This chapter compares the characteristic differences and similarities between the two initiatives and examines how they influence organizational efficiency and flexibility when implemented within a global engineering firm. We suggest that the two initiatives are conceptually complementary but can only create a synergy when the design of organizational routines and practices fits into the metaroutines imposed by ERP and KM, and the social processes are nurtured within functions and cross-functionally.