A Unified Theory of Critical Success Factors for ERP Adoption by SMEs

Based on various researches on the ERP implementation by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) this paper has identified 5 decision areas which have a strategic impact on the success of ERP adoption by the SMEs. These decision areas are planning, acquisition, implementation, usage and percolation and extension. Planning decision includes analyzing the intra and inter-organizational factors influencing adoption, and the proprietor’s commitment and involvement. The Acquisition decision will address issues on identification, scrutiny, selection and finalization of ERP. The user acceptance and the perceived benefits of ERP for SMEs will be studied in the Usage and Percolation Decision. Finally, extension decision will research on the need for process alignment of SMEs to fit into the highly computerized business processes of the large-scale businesses. The Critical Success Factors (CSFs) in each of these five decision areas is identified and explained in relevance to the SMEs in this paper. The outcome of this paper would lay a foundation for evolving a framework for the SMEs to refer during their ERP Adoption process