| Summary: | This thesis explores the power/knowledge of consultants and the project management office (PMO) in the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and its subsequent development. The research followed a qualitative approach involving an interpretive in-depth case study. The study was conducted at a Saudi Arabian university and explored the power of consultants and the PMO in the implementation of enterprise systems in order to better understand the interaction of power and knowledge in the implementation and development process. A theoretical framework was developed by applying Clegg’s (1989) Circuits of Power, Absorptive Capacity, Agency theory, Structuration theory, and Neo-institutional theory. This theoretical framework was used to guide data collection and analysis. A total of 34 interviews with senior management, consultants, technical staff, project managers, and end users were conducted. Data were analysed following Creswell’s (2013) approach, and the principles of interpretive research in information systems (IS) proposed by Klein and Myers (1999) were applied. This study found that PMO and associated consultants have become powerful in ERP implementation and can mobilize power/knowledge by speaking for both the technology and the organization. This study contributes to research addressing ERP by investigating the power/knowledge of highly influential actors (consultants and PMOs) in the adoption and implementation of ERP. It also contributes to the literature on ERP and power, which has not extensively explored the context of developing nations such as Saudi Arabia.
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