Companions Growing Apart: Exploring Actors’ Perceptions with Narratives and Masterplots in ERP Systems Development

Pasi Raatikainen, Samuli Pekkola

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionScientificpeer-review

18 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Collaboration largely determines ERP development success but is fluid with difficulties. We propose them originating from collaborating actors’, such as developers’ and clients’, diverging perceptions. Identifying these perceptions is difficult as they often surface only when the perceptions contradict. In this paper, we utilize the narrative approach, arguing actors being storytellers sharing and living through narratives, to explore an ERP development project where a client and a vendor collaborate in a seeming well-defined manner. Interpreting the actors’ narratives and masterplots shows that they contradict each other. We argue this resulting from the parties’ different perceptions on collaboration, and their unaligned masterplots. This also explains severe problems in the project and illustrates narratives and masterplots as useful for uncovering the actors’ underlying perceptions, driving their actions.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 55th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
EditorsTung X. Bui
PublisherHawaii International Conference on System Sciences
Pages6944-6953
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)978-0-9981331-5-7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2022
Publication typeA4 Article in conference proceedings
EventHawaii International Conference on System Sciences - Maui, United States
Duration: 3 Jan 20227 Jan 2022

Publication series

NameProceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
ISSN (Print)1530-1605
ISSN (Electronic)2572-6862

Conference

ConferenceHawaii International Conference on System Sciences
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityMaui
Period3/01/227/01/22

Keywords

  • Socio-technical Issues in Organizational Information Technologies
  • erp
  • information systems development
  • masterplots
  • narratives

Publication forum classification

  • Publication forum level 1

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Management Information Systems

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Companions Growing Apart: Exploring Actors’ Perceptions with Narratives and Masterplots in ERP Systems Development'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this