IMPLEMENTING ERP SYSTEMS : A qualitative study of ERP implementation and managerial practices in Swedish food retail.

Sammanfattning

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have become increasingly important for organizations seeking greater integration, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making. Despite their potential benefits, ERP implementation is frequently associated with operational disruptions, employee resistance, and challenges related to organizational change. In industries characterized by high operational complexity, such as Swedish food retail, implementation processes may therefore have significant organizational consequences. While existing research has identified critical success factors for ERP implementation, limited attention has been paid to how managers internally manage this process from practice-based, particularly from a managerial, perspective. This study examines how internal managerial practices affect the implementation process of ERP systems in food retail organizations. The study adopts a qualitative multiple-case study design based on semi-structured interviews with six managers across three Swedish food retail organizations, complemented by one industry expert interview. The empirical material was analyzed using the Gioia methodology, drawing on theoretical perspectives from organizational change, leadership, and sensemaking research. The findings reveal that ERP implementation outcomes are shaped not by any single decision or isolated effort, but by how internal strategies and leadership practices interact and reinforce one another across all phases of the process. Communication emerged as the most consequential practice, with organizations that articulated a clear, operationally grounded purpose achieving substantially stronger conditions for employee engagement and system adoption. Nearest managers proved to be the critical link between organizational intentions and individual behavior, although their level of preparation was consistently underestimated in practice. The relationship between the project organization and the operational business further emerged as a decisive factor, and organizations treating “go live” as the endpoint of the implementation consistently achieved lower system utilization and more persistent deviations from intended ways of working. The study contributes theoretically by deepening the understanding of how managerial practices shape organizational change processes in ERP implementation contexts, extending existing frameworks in ways that better account for the informal and attitudinal dimensions of leadership during change. Practically, the findings offer guidance for organizations seeking to improve ERP implementation outcomes, emphasizing the preparation of managers, the formalization of project-business accountability, and the importance of sustained managerial engagement beyond “go-live” of the system.