Does the regional environment matter in ERP system adoption? Evidence from Russia

Purpose This paper explores the effect the regional technological environment has on technology-driven performance, measured by enterprise resource planning (ERP). Design/methodology/approach This study specifies a productivity-based production function driven by ERP system adoption. Employing a quasi-experimental research design, the author disentangles two effects – the average effect of ERP adoption and the moderation effect of the regional technological environment. The novelty of this study is that it merges publicly available information retrieved via text-mining tools and official financial reports published by companies. Findings The total effect of technology adoption on productivity varies from almost 3%–9% in different technological environments. Moreover, this study’s results revealed that the regional technological environment could enhance the effect of adopting different ERP systems. Originality/value While some papers investigate the relationship between ERP adoption and firm performance regarding the environmental context of a firm, the effect of the regional technological environment on the relationship between technology adoption and firm performance is understudied. Thus, this research tries to contribute to a deeper understanding of the regional context's impact on technology-driven performance. The authors used automated content analysis to collect data on technology adoption; by doing so, this study contributes to the growing body of research utilising the text-mining approach to extract data stored in Internet-based information sources.