Impact of Enterprise Applications on the Performance of Public Sector and Government Organizations in India

Abstract

Adoption of enterprise applications in public sector and government organizations has got established over last several years. There are about 175 such organizations in India which use one or more types of enterprise applications (EA). These include packaged and integrated applications such as ERP, CRM, SRM, 31, productivity applications, collaboration, and operation specific applications. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the impact of such applications on the performance of these organizations. The Resource Based View (R) theory is the underpinning dimension in this study that provides an insight into the process by which impact on performance is achieved. Accordingly, the research model provides for testing various hypotheses relating to the relationships between enterprise applications and performance with simultaneous analysis of the mediating role of resource capabilities. newlineIn order to address the research questions and test specific hypotheses, an empirical survey was conducted covering the target population of 175 organizations, post the literature survey and finalization of constructs through field interactions. Responses were sought from the IT and business heads of each of these organizations. Finally, 110 valid responses from 55 organizations newlinewere obtained and analyzed using multiple regressions. Productivity ratios of 27 of these organizations were also analyzed which triangulated the results. newlineThe key results of this research show a positive relationship between EA and performance. The exceptions were the insignificant impact of New EA (CRM, SRM and specialized applications) on performance. It was also found that only intangible resources (BPR, understanding, alignment and IT), as against tangible resources (physical infrastructure and number of people), mediated newlinesignificantly between EA and performance.