An Investigation of the Factors Leading to ERP Obsolescence in Higher Education Institution in Saudi Arabia: A Case Study A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Information School The University of Sheffield By Arwa Aljohani November 2016 Abstract The implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has increased substantially over the last few decades. In business organisations of any size and in many countries and sectors, almost every project today uses an ERP system, with various degrees of complexity and dependency. Reviewing the related Information Systems (IS) and ERP literature has shown that only a very small number of research studies have considered ERP in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), with the majority of studies focusing on other business contexts. In addition, it has been found that most of the literature discusses issues related to the adoption of ERP and the related success stories; in fact, ERP implementation is not the end of the journey. Very often, the ERP post-implementation stage is where the more crucial challenges begin, mainly involving a change in either the internal or external environment of organisations as a result of the rapid growth of technology. ERP/IS has become a victim of these challenges, which has led to an increased possibility of obsolescence. Obsolescence is associated with many costs for organisations if not checked and controlled proactively. However, the current literature indicates that no major research has been undertaken in the area of ERP obsolescence. In order to address this issue, the researcher investigated the factors that led to the ERP obsolescence phenomenon in a public university in Saudi Arabia. A Grounded Theory (GT) approach was adopted as the overarching methodology to guide the data collection and analysis in this single case-study design, using a semi-structured telephone interview method involving 17 informants, namely managers, decision makers and IT staff. Through this analysis, two main categories of obsolescence emerged: internal environmental obsolescence (IEO) and external environmental obsolescence (EEO). The four general types of IEO were found to be System Obsolescence, Organisational Obsolescence, Human Resource Obsolescence and Management Obsolescence. EEO was found to take the form of Policies and Restrictions Obsolescence, Competition Obsolescence and local IT market Obsolescence. Further to these types of obsolescence, this study identified widely different factors that contributed to obsolescence such as network issues, legacy-based issues, maintenance issues, new system advantages, integration issues, university business process changes, professional specialist unavailability, governmental policy issues, educational system issues, economic issues, consultant influence and vendor issues. ii The findings conclude that both IEO and EEO impacted on the university system. Internally, this involved a lack of updating of any part of the system, including software, hardware and/or human aspects for which the actors involved were responsible, which had a wide impact and made the system obsolete. Externally, changes in governmental rules and in the market also negatively influenced obsolescence. The findings also show that the IEO and EEO interacted with each other to accelerate obsolescence. It was concluded that a compatibility mechanism dealing with system component challenges caused by component misalignment, in order to avoid the obsolescence that leads to regular replacement. Consequently, this research shows the importance of looking at obsolescence not only at the component level or from a technical perspective but more importantly at an organisational and extra- institutional level, in particular focusing on problems associated with the human dimension. The outcome of this study offers theoretical and practical contributions across many ERP/IS areas which have been neglected in previous studies. Keywords: Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP), Higher Education Insinuations (HEIs), Information Systems (IS), ERP Obsolescence, Saudi Arabia (SA), Grounded Theory (GT) iii Acknowledgments First of all, I extend my thanks to Allah for his help and empowerment. I would also like to express my appreciation to both of my supervisors, Dr Alex Peng and Dr Miguel Nunes, who extended their generosity to me, brainstorming ideas for my research concern and providing me with needed advice. Thanks also go to the IT support staff members and to the research assistant Matt who supported me when I had any queries. I am also grateful to all of the staff in the Information School for their assistance and encouragement. I would also like to thank my parents for their endless support and love that enabled me to complete this thesis. A very loving thanks to my sisters Wed, Maha, Rana and Sarah who are always pushing me to achieve my goals. I am also thankful for my brothers Khaled and Maher who always prayed and believed in me. Thanks to all my friends who motivated me to keep on working, and who shared with me all the stressful and enjoyable times during the PhD, especially those in my research group. I would also like to acknowledge the research participants for their involvement, time and patience. Finally, I would like to thank my sponsor Taibah University for providing me with this opportunity to study abroad for my PhD. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ iv List of Figures .................................................................................................................. ix List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Context of study ...................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Rationale of study ................................................................................................... 7 1.4 Research questions .................................................................................................. 9 1.5 Research objectives ................................................................................................. 9 1.6 Motivation for study ............................................................................................. 10 1.7 Structure of thesis ................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2: Literature review ........................................................................................... 13 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 13 2.2. Systems and information systems ........................................................................ 14 2.2.1 Definition of systems ..................................................................................... 15 2.2.2 Information systems development, meanings, components and functionality ................................................................................................................................. 18 2.3 IS in HEIs .............................................................................................................. 26 2.4 IS in Saudi Arabia ................................................................................................. 29 2.5 ERP conceptions and meanings ............................................................................ 33 2.5.1. Development of ERP .................................................................................... 36 2.5.2 Development of ERP Lifecycle and ERP Lifecycle Models ......................... 40 2.6 ERP in the HEI context ......................................................................................... 46 2.7 ERP obsolescence definitions, reasons and types ................................................. 55 2.8 ERP in Saudi Arabia and in Saudi HEIs ............................................................... 58 2.9 Summary of reviewed literature and gaps in current literature ............................. 60 v 2.10 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 63 Chapter 3: Research Methodology .................................................................................. 65 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 65 3.2 Research philosophy ............................................................................................. 65 3.3 Research approach ................................................................................................ 67 3.4 Research paradigms .............................................................................................. 69 3.5 Research strategy .................................................................................................. 70 3.5.1 Action research .............................................................................................