Much like research on the productivity paradox of the 1980s, empirical research has not provided a clear association between investments in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and improved productivity, even though these systems were designed, developed, and marketed as productivity...

This study examines the impact of ERP systems on earnings management. We use the absolute value of discretionary accruals as a proxy for earnings management, comparing levels for 143 firms in 32 industry groups that implemented ERP systems between 1994 and 2003 to levels for a control group. We...