Taxonomy of critical success factors based on players and activities across ERP projects: the perspective of ERP vendors

The research into the critical success factors (CSFs) of ERP systems is mainly focussed on the private sector and is carried out from the clients' perspectives; this in spite of the fact that, owing to the greater outsourcing of IT systems of recent years. This study objective is to identify and classify, based on the taxonomy of key players and activities, a set of CSFs for ERP systems from the perspective of national ERP vendors. A multiple-case study of ten ERP vendors was conducted in Saudi Arabia to collect the required data. The thematic analysis identified a list of key factors. These are grouped into three main categories: key players, key activities and IT capabilities. The conclusions may provide researchers and practitioners, particularly those in developing nations, with a greater understanding of a set of CSFs for informed decision-making and develop suitable strategies for the implementation of process interventions.