Presenting A Conceptual Model For The Acceptance Of ERP In The Small And Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

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Abstract

ERP systems are one of the information systems used in various organizations, particularly manufacturing firms. ERP system leads to an increase in efficiency and competitiveness of organization. But the design of the system has been primarily aimed at large companies so SMEs are excluded from effective use of such a system. Many studies on the benefits of ERP deployment in large organizations have been done up to now, but researches on the acceptance of ERP in the SMEs are very limited in the world. So in this study, for the first time in Iran, factors influencing the acceptance of ERP systems in manufacturing SMEs are investigated and a conceptual model has been presented. Three categories of variables including environmental, organizational and technological variables in four major hypotheses and seven minor hypotheses are considered. Analysis shows that all assumptions have been accepted. Therefore, we can conclude that having a dynamic and competitive environment and strong logistic relationships with other companies, along with high turnover and high level of formality and concentration lead companies to use manufacturing technologies and information technology systems. In other words, technical and technological factors have a facilitating role in accepting ERP.

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