The impact of enterprise resource planning on business performance : with the discussion on its relationship with open innovation

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have played an important role in economic development. The increasing number of SMEs have resulted in the business landscape to become more and more competitive. This has made SMEs to also undergo great challenges to be able to maintain their existence and expand their businesses. It is argued that the enterprise resource planning system (ERPs) can improve business performance. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study is to examine the impact of an ERPs usage on the financial and non-financial performance of the Saudi SMEs. An exploratory study has been used to identify the factors contributing to the effective and successful use of an ERP system. The findings indicate seven contingency factors. Based on the exploratory study results, three hypotheses have been developed and tested in a quantitative study. A survey is constructed and sent to 200 Saudi SMEs that adopted the ERP systems. About 120 valid responses have been received. For data analysis and hypothesis testing, a structural equation modelling (SEM) tool has been adopted. The results depict that management support, user satisfaction, and training significantly impact the ERPs usage. Another significant finding is that ERP systems enhance SMEs' performance.