We are changing the process, does anyone disagree?

Jasper Haver 10974741

26-06-2018 2017/2018

Maarten de Haas Bachelor thesis

We are changing the process, does anyone disagree?

Abstract

This paper explores what factors employees with different personalities stress as important to get employees committed to or satisfied about an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system change. The research was conducted at the organization Van Tunen. To answer my research question nine in depth-interviews and participative observation have been

conducted. A survey was used as a tool to categorize the employees into one of the five personalities from the big five model. The transcripts of the interviews were analyzed according to the procedure of the grounded theory content analysis. The factors the

employees with different personalities stressed as important were: personality and character, communication, recognizing the benefit, relationship of trust, ignorance, involvement and workable system. The research pointed out that recognizing the benefit, involvement and workable system were important factors considered by employees with all kind of personality traits. Communication was stressed as important mainly by people who scored high on extraversion. Support as an important factor was mainly mentioned by people scoring high on agreeableness. The research pointed out that trust was mentioned by people scoring high on conscientiousness, but this connection could be indirect. Finally, respondents scoring high on conscientiousness tended to have more of a plan on how to address an ERP system change. Research has been done on ERP systems and how to create commitment among employees to an ERP system change. Yet, differences between perceptions about what factors are stressed as important to employees with different personalities to get employees committed to or satisfied about an ERP system change is unexamined. Therefore, this paper provides an extra dimension to the researches on how to get employees committed to or satisfied with an ERP system change. A limitation of this research is that it was conducted in only one organization. Conducting the research at multiple organizations will improve the reliability, also because in every organization an ERP system change is different. To extend this research, follow-up research might focus on more specific factors to get employees committed to or satisfied with an ERP system change.

Index

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Framework

2.1 Enterprise resource planning 2.2 Adoption process 2.3 Attitudes 2.4 Satisfaction 2.5 Commitment 2.6 Resistance 2.7 Personality traits 3. Method 4. Results

4.1 Personality & character 4.2 Communication

4.3 Recognize the benefit 4.4 Relationship of trust 4.5 Ignorance

4.6 Involvement 4.7 Workable system

4.8 Factors stressed as important by employees with different personality traits to get employees committed to an ERP system change

4.9 Ignorance

4.10 Relationship of trust 4.11 Recognize the benefit 4.12 Communication 4.13 Workable system 4.14 Conscientiousness 5. Discussion 5.1 Ignorance 5.2 Communication

5.3 Recognize the benefit and a workable system 5.4 Relationship of trust

5.5 Involvement

5.6 Conscientiousness 5.7 Theoretical contribution 5.8 Limitations & future research 5.9 Practical guidance

6. Conclusion 7. References

1. Introduction

Being able to innovate and adapt is crucial for a business to cope with the developments and challenges in the current global business environment (Bhal & Singh, 2015). Businesses investments in information technology (IT) developments have been increasing for years (McAfee & Brynjolfsson, 2008). Especially in IT, there has been some huge developments the last decade (Mukhopadhyay, Kekre & Kalathur, 1995). These developments provide challenges and opportunities for businesses. Organizations have to seek competitive advantages by implementing changes in administrations and technology developments (Chen, Wang, Huang & Spencer-Rodgers, 2012). IT can provide efficiencies for business activities, and because efficiency translates directly into more profitability, it is important for businesses to make good use of these new developments (Sung, 2007). One important efficiency improving IT development is the development of Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. ERP is an integrated management system of core business processes (Costa, Ferreira, Bento & Aparicio, 2016). The consequences of implementing an ERP system on business processes and enterprise performance have been examined (Yen, David & Jane, 2002).

Detecting a development in the industry is one thing, adapting to that change is another. To get everyone within the organization to commit to that change is a very difficult task, which demands a high degree of flexibility and adaptability from the employees (Kaplan & Lerouge, 2007). Employees’ lack of commitment to the change has been proposed as one of the most important factors contributing to failed change projects (Chen, Wang, Huang & Spencer Rodgers, 2012). Commitment is the force binding the employees to a course of action relevant to a change objective (Herscovitch & Meyer, 2002). The rapid development of new technology and the changing landscape of the online world has changed the whole business world. Although the business world changed, the people stayed the same and just had to adapt to the new developments. The business environment´s changes occurring more

quickly and business´ activities tend to become more complex and the changes require fast adjustments which often test humans´ adaptability (Codreanu & Radut, 2012).

Employees with different personalities may have different perceptions of what important factors are to get employees committed to or satisfied about an ERP system change.

Managers should take these different perceptions into account, because if they recognize the different personality traits in the workplace, they will be better able to cope with the different employees and their personalities, to eventually get them fully committed to the new situation (Self & Rogers, 1990). The consequences of different personality traits on job satisfaction (Ahmad, Jasimuddin & Kee, 2018) and change (Miller, 1996) have been analyzed. Yet, what factors employees with different personality traits stress as important to get employees committed to or satisfied with an ERP system change, is still unexamined.

2. Theoretical framework 2.1 Enterprise resource planning

As a specific form of major change, this paper will look at Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system changes. ERP is an integrated management system of core business

processes. ERP presents a continuously updated and holistic view of the business through a single IT architecture and by using data from a database management system. ERP-systems help business to collect, store, control and interpret data from their business activities. They also facilitate information flow across all business areas. An integrated approach guarantees that processes are performed in the same way in every area of the company (Costa,

Ferreira, Bento & Aparicio, 2016). Because an ERP system influences all business areas and processes, the implementation of a new system is very complex (Bingi, Sharma & Godla, 2001). The biggest challenge is how to effectively manage the system in order to allow it to fully accomplish the expected performance (Hunton, Lippincott & Reck, 2003). Introducing an ERP system to the organization is a big investment, ranging from thousands to several million euros. This investment and the complexity of the implementation of the system make it a very risky process (Bingi et al., 2001). Yet, every year companies around the world invest around one billion dollars in ERP systems (Yusuf, Gunasekaran & Abthorpe, 2004). When implementing and using the ERP system well, the enterprise may be able to benefit. Benefits include costs savings because of improvements on information flow across business areas, operational efficiency and improvements on order management (Majed, Abdullah & Zairi, 2003). Furthermore, it increases visibility of data, flexibility of the business, quality of decision-making (Reinhard and Bergamaschi, 2001)and the company is able to make improvements on the response time to customers’ needs (Majed et al., 2003). So

implementing a new ERP system has major influences on the organization and provide considerable benefits. However, to get every employee committed and adaptive to the new system provides a big challenge for the organization.

2.2 Adoption process

A major condition for the success of an ERP system change, is the commitment of the employees to the system change (Chen, Wang, Huang & Spencer Rodgers, 2012). Adopting the new system is a complex process but it is vital to the success of the enterprise (Basoglu, Daim, & Kerimoglu, 2007. The satisfaction of employees about an ERP system positively influences the commitment of employees about an ERP system. The satisfaction of users of the system is the most important determinant in the success of a new information system and attitudes of employees is a major factor in explaining behavioral intentions (Costa, Ferreira, Bento & Aparicio, 2016. Employees with different personalities may have different perceptions of what important factors are to get employees committed to or satisfied about an ERP system change. Managers should take these different perceptions into account, because if they recognize the different personality traits in the workplace, they will be better able to cope with the different employees and their personalities, to eventually get them fully committed to the new situation (Self & Rogers, 1990). Barger & Kirby (1995) stressed the importance of recognizing the different personalities in an organization. There are change implementation strategies which positively influences the attitude of employees about the change. communicating the plans about the change and how the employees will benefit from it positively influences the commitment of employees (Luo, Song, Gebert, Zhang & Feng, 2016).Communication strategy concerns not only mid-level practitioner and formal information, but also informal interaction involving all employees individually (Balogun & Johnson, 2005). Mintberg et al. (1998) suggests that organizations’ focus during an

implementation process is too narrow and have a fragmented view of reality. They focus too much on macro-level, content of strategy, managers’ decision-making, organizational

structures and economic factors, instead of the employees working with the process. Support during the adaption process and the possibility to participate enhances employee

commitment to the change (Dievernich, Tokarski & Gong, 2016). However, Westley (1990) stated that inclusion in the strategic discussion did not necessarily guarantee employee satisfaction. Dievernich et al. (2016) stress the importance of belief in people, possibility of interaction among people, cooperation and clear communication for a successful system change implementation. Behavior of leaders managing the change is one of the key influences of success of organizational change (Collins & Rainwater, 2005). When an ERP

system change occurs, there will be a pressure of uncertainty on the shoulders of the

employee. When it is not clearly communicated to the employees what they can expect from the change, this may lead to a feeling of uncertainty and powerlessness among employees. When employees do not know how to approach the changes being made may develop stress among these employees, which does not positively influence the satisfaction and

commitment of these employees to the ERP system change (McHugh, 1997). However, employees with different personalities might have different perceptions on these factors influencing the commitment of employees to the ERP system change.

2.3 Attitudes

This paper will look at the factors employees with different personality traits stress as important to get employees committed to or satisfied with an ERP system change. A lot of research has been done on ERP systems, including its influence behavioral intentions of employees (Costa, Ferreira, Bento & Aparicio, 2016). Behavioral intentions are connected to the attitude employees have about certain events. An attitude is a mindset a person has about certain people or certain events (Cunningham, Haas & Jahn, 2011). An attitude consists of three components: firstly, a cognitive component, this involves a persons’ belief/knowledge about an attitude object. Secondly , the affective component, this is the emotional part of an attitude. Affect could lead to behavioural consequences. And thirdly, the behavioural component, this influences how a person acts. The cognitive and affective components are closely connected. The way a person looks and feels about certain events, determines how the person will act to these events (Robbins, 2011). This paper explores which factors employees with different personality traits stress as important to get employees committed to or satisfied with an ERP system change. However, commitment is not the only reaction employees might have or not have about an ERP system. That is why, regarding the reactions of employees to an ERP system change , three different attitudes are important to include in this study: satisfaction, commitment and resistance. This paper will explore which factors are important to employees with different personality traits to get employees

committed to or satisfied with an ERP system change, and see if there are differences in importance of factors to the different people with different personalities.

2.4 Satisfaction

Satisfaction has been associated with positive organizational outcomes. When employees are satisfied with their jobs they are more likely to display organizational citizenship behavior. Satisfaction of the employees increases customer satisfaction and reduces employee

productivity and a negative relationship with employee absenteeism and improper behaviour. Arguably, that satisfaction of employees may positively influence the company’s revenue. In Organisations in which the employees reported to be more satisfied with their job, stock prices appeared to rise faster than in organisations in which the employees reported to be less satisfied with their job.

2.5 Commitment

Employee commitment to organizational change is a mind-set that binds an individual to a course of action deemed necessary for the successful implementation of an organizational change (Herscovitch & Meyer, 2002). Employee commitment positively influences the support for an ERP system change (Meyer, Srinivas & Topolnytsky, 2007). When implementing a radical change such as an ERP system change, gaining employees’ commitment is important because these changes involve a fundamental shift in the firm’s philosophy and strategic orientation (Greenwoord & Hinings, 1996). Employees’ commitment is essential for the implementation to succeed (Herscovitch & Meyer, 2002). Herscovitch & Meyer (2002) identified two types of commitment to change that influence the employees’ behaviour to the change. Firstly, the affective commitment to change. This type of

commitment is the desire of the employee to provide support for the change based on a belief in its inherent benefits. Secondly, the normative commitment to change. This type of commitment is a sense of obligation to the organization to support the change because it is one’s duty to do so. These types of commitment have been found to promote important employee behaviours that actively support change, make personal sacrifices to support the change, promote the change and cooperate with the spirit of the change.

2.6 Resistance

Resistance on the other hand leads to negative organizational outcomes (Kirkman & Shapiro, 2001). Resistance to change an commitment to change are related management issues (Coetsee, 1999).However, Foster (2010) pointed out that the two phenomena are opposites, yet seen as unrelated. Acceptance of change and rejection of change

(commitment and resistance) are interesting management issues. The management should try to remove the resistance among employees to the ERP change to even be able to create commitment among employees to the system change (Coetsee, 1999)

Robbins (2011) and Yeager and Saggese (2008) mentioned several reasons why employees might resist to an ERP system change:

 Habit: for employees to deal with complex things in life, we tend to trust on our habits and programmed reactions. But when the employee can no longer trust on those habits and programmed reactions because of the system change, employees will resist to the change (Robbins, 2011)

 Security: people with a great need for safety/security, will probably resist to changes, because these changes threaten their feeling of safety. Employees might be afraid that after the change it will be harder for them to meet the needs of the organization (Yeager and Saggese, 2008).

 Fear for the unknown: change is a substitute for ambiguity and insecurity about the unknown. People want to know why the organization has to change, what will change for them and how they will benefit from it. If they do not get answers to these

questions, they will resist to the change (Yeager and Saggese, 2008).

 Nature of change: studies indicate that the degree of resistance to change is related to the level of satisfaction with the current situation and the characteristics of the change itself, the desirability of the change and usefulness of the change. When employees like the situation as it is and they do not see the change as necessary, they will resist (Yeager and Saggese, 2008)

 Lack of ability: employees think they do not have the ability to adapt to the new situation (Yeager and Saggese, 2008).

 Failure of the change: insecurity resulting from an individual or a collective lack of confidence makes it difficult for people to support the change (Yeager and Saggese, 2008).

 Relationship of trust: Oreg and Sverdlik (2011) stressed the importance for the relationship of trust between the employees and the people imposing the change. The research pointed out that employees with a negative orientation about the people imposing the change are more likely to show resistance to the system change.

 Unnecessary change: Henry (1997) suggested that resistance among employees will increase when the employees do not see the need for change.

Robbins (2011) pointed at different change instruments organizations may use to reduce resistance among employees to the ERP system change:

 Knowledge and communication: resistance may be reduced by communicating with employees and show them the benefits of the ERP system change. Communication may reduce resistance in two levels: firstly, good communication with the employees reduces the consequences of wrong information. If employees know all the facts and benefits of the system change and all the misunderstandings are rectified, the

through communication to stress the necessity of the ERP system change. Previous research stresses the importance of communicating the employees why the

organization has to change (Yeager & Saggese, 2008).

 Participation: it is not so easy for individuals to resist a decision about change in which they took part themselves. Before a system change is implemented,

employees, especially the ones who might resist to the change, should be included in the decision process. If the employees have the knowledge to have a useful

contribution to the decision process, their contribution might reduce their resistance and the quality of the decision-making process will be improved (Chung, Grogan & Mosley, 2012).

 Support and involvement: previous research has indicated that managers or

employees who are not emotionally involved in the change process prefer the current situation and have a big chance of resisting to the changing process. Getting the employees in the decision-making process reduces resistance. Support and involvement takes away uncertainty from the employees (Robbins, 2011)

 Implement fair changes: Management has got to make sure the changes are fair, this means by implementing the system change through objective procedures. Procedural justice becomes extra important when employees experience the outcome of the change as something negative. So, when organizations implement an ERP system change, it is important to convince employees that the changes will be consistent and fairly implemented (Robbins, 2011)

 Select employees who accept change: previous research indicates that the ability to accept changes and to adapt to these changes is connected with the employees’ personality. It seems that people who are able to adapt to changes easily, are open to new experiences, are positive about changes, dare to take risks and show flexible behavior. A study in the US, Europe and Asia points out that employees with a positive self-image and high risk tolerance are better able to cope with organizational change. Another study suggested that organizations should select employees on how they scored on a resistance-against-change scale to sort out those candidates who reacted emotionally or rigid on changes (Meyer, Stanley, Hercovitch & Topolnytsky, 2002)

 Recognizing the necessity: Coch and French (1948) suggested that employees need to recognize the necessity to change. Recognizing the necessity will reduce

resistance among employees.

 Recognizing the benefit: organizational members need to know how they or the whole organization will benefit from the new system. Furthermore, they want to know what the significance of these benefits are for each organizational member. The

employees also want to know what the negative sides of the ERP system change are, in this way, they are able to know if the positive consequences will outweigh the negative consequences. If the employees recognize the benefit of the new system, their resistance will diminish (Self, 2007).

Dissatisfaction might be a precursor of resistance. There are four possible reactions to dissatisfaction. Firstly, the exit-reaction, this is a situation in which an employee will look for another job or quit their current job immediately. Secondly, the voice-reaction, this reaction contains active attempts from the employee to improve the situation by providing suggestions for improvements, discuss problems with superiors or undertake other binding activities. Thirdly, the loyalty-reaction, which is a passive reaction. A loyalty reaction might be that the employee just optimistically waits for the situation to improve. With this reaction, employees still defend the organization when people criticize the current situation and keeps having faith that the management are just ‘doing what is necessary’. And finally, the neglecting-reaction, this reaction contains a destructive reaction on the current situation which is experienced as negative by the employee. Reactions might be that the employee will arrive too late more often, make more mistakes or work less hard (Yeager & Saggese, 2008).

Briefly worded, an ERP system change provides uncertainty and it may cause resistance if employees do not know how to approach the changes being made and do not see the benefit from it. However, clear communication to the employees about the ERP system changes and how the employees may benefit from the new system may reduce the resistance. Moreover, support for the employees, involvement in the decision-making process and a good implementation strategy are also good change instruments organizations may use to reduce resistance.

2.7 Personality traits

This paper will explore the factors employees with different personality traits stress as important to get employees committed to or satisfied about an ERP system change. Yousef (2017) argues that a persons’ attitude about change depends on affective reactions to change and behavioral tendency to change. His paper analyzes different personality traits to see if employee satisfaction during an ERP system change differs according to

personality. Personality is considered as the sum of ways in which an individual responds to and interacts with others. Personality consists of relatively constant and typical

categories of the big five model to distinguish employees’ personalities. An impressive amount of researches supports the assertion that five basic dimension of personalities underlie all other personality trait (Credé, Harms, Niehorster & Gaye-Valentine 2012). These are the Big five personality categories (Johnson & Krueger, 2004):

 Extraversion: this dimension indicates to what extent a person feels at ease with others. Extravert people like to have people around them and they are more assertive, cheerful and social. Introvert people are more reserved, shy and less conversational and try to avoid social situations.

 Agreeableness: people who score high on agreeableness tend to focus on others and harmony. They work well with others, have faith in other people and have a warm personality. People who score low on agreeableness have a more cold, distant and hostile personality.

 Conscientiousness: this dimension tells something about how systematic and purposeful people are to work. A conscientious person tends to be more dutiful, responsible, reliable, persistent and orderly. People who score low on

conscientiousness tend to be more unorganized, unreliable and easily distracted.

 Emotional stability/neuroticism: this dimension tells something about resilience to stress. People with a positive emotional stability are calm and have more confidence. They are better able to deal with stress and they will stay more positive when life tries to drag them down. People who score low on emotional stability are nervous,

anxious, depressed and insecure.

 Openness to experience: this dimension tells something about interest and

fascinations for new things. People who are open to new experiences are creative, curious and artistic. People at the other end are more conventional an bond to the familiar.

The different personalities are related to job performance. Results from previous research state that individuals who score high on conscientiousness are more reliable, careful,

thorough and good at planning things. Conscientious people demand and provide clarity and structure in their business’ activities. Moreover, they tend work harder, more organized, result-oriented and these characteristics have a strong positive relationship with

achievements on the job and in life (Robbins, 2011). Furthermore, people who score high on conscientiousness, develop a higher knowledge-level in their jobs. These results are

probably because conscientious people have a stronger commitment to their jobs. (George, Helson & John, 2011)

People who score high on neuroticism are less happy than people who score low. From the different Big five categories, emotional stability is associated the most with satisfaction in life, job satisfaction and a low stress-level. This is probably because people who score high on emotional stability, tend to have a more positive and optimistic way of thinking and

experience less negative emotions. This optimistic way of thinking makes emotionally stable persons better able to cope with changes and uncertainty, because they initially tend to have a positive attitude about events. A high score on emotional stability is also associated with less health complaints (Robbins, 2011).

Extravert people are, in general, in comparison to introvert people happier in life and at their jobs. They experience more positive emotions than introvert people and express emotions more easily. Extravert people perform better at jobs that include a lot of interpersonal

interaction, because they generally have more social skills. They generally have more friends and spend more time in social circles than introvert people. Moreover, in comparison to introvert people, extravert people tend to have a more proactive attitude and are more involved in certain events such as a decision-making process. And finally, extraversion is a strong indicator of leadership in a group: extravert people are more dominant and assertive.A disadvantage of extraversion is that extravert people tend to be more impulsive than introvert people; they have a stronger tendency to show risky behaviour (George, Helson & John, 2011).

People who score high on openness to experience are more creative in the area of art and science. They are usually less religious and more liberal than people who score lower on openness to experience. Because creativity is important for leadership, open people tend to be more effective leaders. Open people generally have less difficulty with ambiguity and adapting to change. Open people are better able to deal with changes in organisations and will adapt to the new situation more easily than people who score low on openness to experience (George, Helson & John, 2011).

Agreeable people tend to be slightly more happy than people who score low on

agreeableness. People who score high on agreeableness are better liked than people who score lower. Agreeable people perform better on interpersonal-oriented jobs than less agreeable people. Agreeable people generally perform better at school and the chance is smaller that they will use drugs or drink excessively when older. Agreeable people are less likely to show deviant behaviour in an organisation. Support and interactivity with other employees is important for Agreeable people in a system change process. A disadvantage is that agreeableness is associated with less career success, especially in revenues. This may

be because agreeable people are worse negotiators than people who score low on agreeableness (Robbins, 2011).

Altogether, the potential benefits from an ERP system change, the complexity of the implementation of such a radical system change and the differences between people with different personalities make the research question for this paper as follows: what factors do employees with different personality traits stress as important to get employees committed to or satisfied about an ERP system change.

3. Method

The purpose of the paper is to explore the factors employees with different personality traits stress as important to get employees committed to or satisfied with an ERP system change. To answer my research question in depth-interviews and participative observation have been conducted. A survey was used as a tool to categorize the employees into one of the five personalities from the big five model (Credé, Harms, Niehorster & Gaye-Valentine 2012). Participants must rate fifty items on a five point scale where 1=disagree, 3=neutral and 5=agree. The results of this test provide a percentage of similarity with every personality. The big five model is not associated with any particular test, a variety of measures have been developed to measure them. This big five personality test was used by Goldberg in 1998. A qualitative research has been conducted to explore the factors employees with different personality traits stress as important to get employees committed to or satisfied about an ERP system change. A qualitative approach is generally more useful in addressing complex situations where it is unclear what variables or relationships between variables are likely to be important (Shilling, Morris, Thompson-Coon, Ukoumunne, Rogers & Logan, 2013), which is the case with the research question of this paper..

The research has been conducted at the company Van Tunen in Beverwijk. Van Tunen is a third generation family-owned business with approximately twenty employees engaged in coastal development, earthmoving, rockworks and mining activities. They provide contract, rental and support services for the dredging, earthmoving and mining industry as well as the maritime/shipping sector. The direction exists of the commercial manager and the two technical managers. I am currently working at Van Tunen as a project employee. In this quality I am participating in an ERP system switch process at Van Tunen . Therefore I am able to observe how the people on the work floor will react to the big changes that this system change will cause. Van Tunen is a small organization in which managers and their subordinates communicate regularly with each other because there prevails a feeling of

shared responsibility in the organization. The employees at Van Tunen interact well with each other and are respectful to one another.

Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews provide reliable comparable qualitative data and give the interviewee the freedom to express

themselves (Cohen & Crabtree, 2006). The nine participants all experienced the ERP system change closely. From the around twenty-five employees at Van Tunen, only nine of those will work with the new ERP system, and they were all interviewed.

An overview of the interview respondents:

Function Personality Description

Financial administrator Extraversion 93% Emotional stability 34% Agreeableness 83% Conscientiousness 31% Openness to experience 91%

The financial administrator has been working for Van Tunen for five years. Her responsibilities include administrating invoices, records and transactions.

Technical manager Extraversion 92% Emotional stability 57% Agreeableness 72% Conscientiousness 93% Openness to experience 23%

One of the three directors. The technical manager has been working at Van Tunen for eight years and he is involved in almost every department of the company. He opens and closes the organization.

Project employee Extraversion 96% Emotional stability 87% Agreeableness 51% Conscientiousness 41% Openness to experience 51%

The project employee has been working at Van Tunen for 4 months. He is directly involved in the ERP system change process. He did not work with the old system.

Commercial manager Extraversion 78% Emotional stability 72% Agreeableness 67% Conscientiousness 93% Openness to experience 59%

One of the three directors. She is involved in every component of the company except pure technical components. Directly involved in the ERP system change implementation process.

Commercial assistant Extraversion 42% Emotional stability 57% Agreeableness 82% Conscientiousness 94% Openness to experience 11%

He has been working at Van Tunen for 4 years. He connects with business-relations and has technical experience. He is not well informed about the ERP system change.

Technical manager 1 Extraversion 70% Emotional stability 93% Agreeableness 71% Conscientiousness 78% Openness to experience 11%

One of the three directors. He has been working at Van Tunen for 11 years. Involved in the ERP decision making process but not yet well involved in the

implementation stage.

Financial manager Extraversion 48% Emotional stability 64% Agreeableness 93% Conscientiousness 78% Openness to experience 57%

Her responsibilities are pure financial and directly

involved in the ERP system change implementation process.

Financial manager 1 Extraversion 62% Emotional stability 68% Agreeableness 57% Conscientiousness 92%

She has been working at Van Tunen since 1988. The wife of the CEO. Works part-time. She is the oldest who will experience the ERP

Openness to experience 59% system change. Management assistant Extraversion 16%

Emotional stability 43% Agreeableness 89% Conscientiousness 57% Openness to experience 23%

She has been working at Van Tunen for two weeks. She assists the

management. She uses the old system and will use the new system.

All employees experience the same ERP system change, but they use the system differently, because they all have different business activities. All employees have worked with the current system, except the project employee. Yet, the project employee was able to provide valuable answers to the interview questions because he informs other employees about the new system and notices their reactions. Furthermore, the technical managers also have not been working with the current system but they will work with the new system, so the ERP system change will have more impact on them. Because the switch from working on notes to an ERP system is more radical than what the other employees will experience.

Possible respondents were contacted face-to-face if they would be willing to participate in an interview. They were all willing to participate. The interviews were conducted face-to-face at the office. At the beginning of the interview, it was made clear that their identity would remain anonymous and that the results of the interview would be processed in this paper. The interviews took twenty minutes on average. The interviews were structured to allow the respondents’ exploration on their feeling about the system, their thoughts on pitfalls for the management in an ERP system change and their thoughts on how the management may create dedication among employees regarding the system change.

The transcripts of the interviews were analyzed according to the procedure of the grounded theory content analysis (Tosolini, Morris, Mohan, Morris, Mohan & McCown, 2014). This approach requires three sequential phases of coding: firstly, open coding, this analysis step implies a preliminary identification of concepts that fit with data. During this stage, the transcript is examined line-by-line and the researcher identifies lines which imply a certain thought on the ERP system change. Secondly, axial coding, this step contains condensation and aggregation of the codes into broader categories. Thirdly, selective coding, this step contains detection of connections and identification of core categories among the different categories. In this phase, a story is formed connecting the assembled categories (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). This systematic coding procedure aims at analyzing the core factors that

employees with different personalities stressed as important to get the employees committed to or satisfied with the ERP system change. The results from the coding procedure will be explored and linked to the employees with different personality traits. The selective codes will be linked to the personalities and this connection will be underpinned by existing literature research. Therefore, this paper uses a deductive approach.

Open codes Axial Codes Selective codes

Personality Character Optimist Personality & character Personality & character Clarity Well-designed system

What are the change agents doing?

Clarity Communication Informal conversation Presentation Communication Insecurity Insecurity Faster system

Recognize the benefit Efficiency

Well-designed system

Recognize the benefit Recognize the benefit

Trust

Small group Relationship

Relationship trust Relationship trust

Small group Small organization

Small organization

Time pressure Take time to practice Enough time

Opportunity to try the system

Ignorance

Guidance Support

Manual Too difficult Ignorance

Ignorance Involvement

Look along with the system

Involvement Involvement

Well-designed system Simplicity

Slowly change Practical system

Workable system Workable system

4. Results

This chapter examines and interprets the core factors that the employees with different personality traits stressed as important to get employees committed to, satisfied with or less resistant to the ERP system change. At the end of the chapter, I will analyze if there are differences in the strength and relevance of these factors between the different personalities of the respondents.

4.1 Personality and character

In the interviews, respondents mentioned that personality and character influences the way employees thought about the ERP system change. The differences between the different personalities will be analysed and interpreted at the end of the results.

But I think that it also has to do with how you are as a person, I always try to approach things positively (Financial administrator)

4.2 Communication

Communication is an important factor to get employees committed to or satisfied with an ERP system change. Multiple respondents stressed the importance of clear communication to prevent insecurity among employees.

Communication is crucial in such a system change, people should indicate if there are certain things in the system or during the system change process that bothers them. It is our duty to calm the people by being clear about what we are doing to make sure it is clear for the employees what they could to expect (Commercial manager)

I think it is important for us that we are very clear to the employees about what we are doing. It is important to motivate the employees to work with the new system. I think communication and involvement are very important for motivation (Project employee)

The technical manager and commercial assistant stressed the importance of reducing insecurity among employees about the new ERP system. Communication and by implication the clarity were pointed out as motivating factors to working with the new system:

It is important for the management to communicate clearly to their subordinates about the content of the new system. What will change and how they may benefit from it. In this way, the insecurity among employees will diminish. (Technical manager).

Create clarity. Clear communication to the employees about what they might be able to expect. In this way, you will remove the insecurity among employees (Commercial assistant)

The financial administrator and the project employee stressed the importance of clarity to get all the employees committed to the new system. When asked how the managers are able to make sure all the employees would be committed to the new system, they responded:

Hmm yeah that is up to you. I think it is good to just be clear about what you are doing and what will change for the people. Just an update every once in a while and you should let the people look along how the system looks like. That seems like a good one to me (Financial administrator)

Pitfalls are that the employees who will work with the new system do not know well enough what the people, who are busy with the new system, are actually doing. It might cause insecurity if they do not know what to expect. Insecurity may cause stress and dissatisfaction. As an employee, you want to know what you might be able to expect. Clarity and recognizing the benefits are in my opinion the key factors to motivating employees. (Project employee)

Creating clarity through communication about the new system and the activities of the people implementing the change was mentioned multiple times by the employees. There are

different forms of communication. Formal presentations were mentioned by the respondents multiple times as a method to make clear what the employees might be able to expect for the new system.

And I think we should do a presentation to inform the employees what they might expect from the new system. You know, not too difficult, just bring it over positively (Technical manager)

Also informal conversations were mentioned by the respondents as a means to create clarity. The financial administrator claims she is well informed about the new ERP system based on the information she received from the informal conversations. These informal conversations seemed to diminish the insecurity about the system.

Yes I am well informed. I was not really involved with picking the right system. But I have been talking with “the commercial manager” and “the financial manager” about what you are busy with (Financial administrator).

4.3 Recognize the benefit

Recognizing the benefit was mentioned multiple times by the respondents as a source of motivation. The management stressed the importance that the employees are convinced that they will benefit from the new system. They suggest that if the employees believe that the new system will make it easier for them, their resistance will diminish.

You have to try to tell them in such a manner, that they will be committed to the new system, that is the trick. They need to recognize the benefit. Once they recognize the benefit, they will come along, I am convinced of that. The new system should make it easier for them, and I really believe it will (Technical manager)

I think it is important that it is a good system, in which the employees will see it will all go faster, more efficiently, that they do not have to do double work any longer and that the new system will make sure it reduces the amount of work that they have to do. Because how could you not be enthusiastic about a system that is beneficial for you (Commercial manager)

But also the subordinates believe recognizing the benefit will positively influence their commitment and motivation to work with the new system.

Actually I think the system we used to work with was just fine. But if they say that it is possible that it will all go faster, you think, well okay, I am curious (Financial

administrator)

Clarity and recognizing the benefit are key factors to the motivation of employees (Project employee)

When asked how the management could get everyone committed to the change, the management assistant responded:

You have to show them what the system is capable of and that the new system will make it easier for them. To solve it like that, is in my opinion a good way

(Management assistant)

4.4 Relationship of trust

Van Tunen is a relatively small company in their sector. It is a family-owned business and the employees seem to be very close. There is a good work atmosphere and people really seem to trust and respect each other. Van Tunen experienced a huge growth of profitability the last couple of years. Because of this growth, they were able to expand their workforce from four employees in 2013 to twenty in 2018. This might explain a certain feeling of shared

responsibility among the employees. The management really stressed the importance of a relationship of trust between the management and the subordinates.

I think the bigger an organisation is, the more difficult it is to motivate the subordinates. In this way, the distance between the subordinates and the management implementing the change is bigger and this generally reduces the relationship of trust. (Commercial manager)

The commercial manager mentioned that Van Tunen being a small organization is an advantage for the relationship of trust between the management and their subordinates

One advantage is that we are a relatively small organization in which the people know each other very well. Look, the “financial administrator” and I have been friends since we were children. If she was against the new system, I would know haha.

Also the subordinates mention the open and trustworthy atmosphere in the organization. They seem to have good faith in the managers.

We work with a small group, everyone seem to know each other well,

everyone works hard and you just notice there seem to be mutual trust. That is why I think everyone has faith in the people implementing the change and it is also a family business and everyone has good faith in “the commercial manager”. Because it is a small organization I do think everyone is well informed (Project employee)

I am calm about the system. I hear good stories from all sides and I do have good faith that you chose a good system with the wishes we have, which have to be processed in the new system. (Commercial assistant)

There seem to be a trustworthy atmosphere in the organization. Not only do the different subordinates have faith in the management. But the management has also good faith in the subordinates. This seems to positively influence the commitment of the employees to the ERP system change.

Look, I know the people in the organization very well. But I am confident that they will come to me when they have questions about things in the system which are not clear to them (Commercial manager)

4.5 Ignorance

A big influence of the insecurity of the employees about the new ERP system is that they think they will lack the capabilities to work with it. They may think it is too difficult to handle. Different employees mentioned they need to get enough time to practice with the new system. The managers mention that they will take into account that some employees may need extra support. The financial manager mentions that the older people may need more time to be able to handle the system.

You have to take into account that not everyone will take up with the same speed and that we should take enough time to explain it to the people. Some people understand things quicker than others. I think the older employees will have more struggles with the new systems than the younger employees. They will need more time but they have to be able to work the system as well. I think we should make enough time for that (Technical manager)

They should get enough time to get used to the system (Technical manager)

Also the need for extra help was pointed out by different respondents. Different subordinates did stress support as an important factor for the commitment of employees during an ERP system change.

I think the guys downstairs (Technical service), they will need guidance if we will work with the new system. If they find it too hard, I think they will just not do it haha

(Financial administrator)

I think what you are about to do with those lessons, a manual and some extra help when necessary, is think that is fine to prepare the people for such a system (Management assistant)

However, providing extra help for employees was mentioned only once by the someone of the direction which consists of the commercial manager and the two technical manager

In het manual and maybe extra instructions or small workgroups to explain the system step-by-step. If the employees are not able to handle the system with the manual only, another way for explanation should be provided (Technical manager)

The financial manager especially pointed out support and opportunity to try the system as important factors for the satisfaction of the employees about the ERP system.

By letting the people work in the system by themselves. I think we noticed that just listening is not sufficient for you to do it on your own. I think you learn the most from first an explanation and next practice on your own and confront things that have to be solved. If someone is just pushing the buttons, it will seem clear at the moment, but if you have to do it on your own it is: what was it again? How did he do it? Which button do we need now? No, just practice on your own, in that way you will get the hang of it, in my opinion (Financial manager).

4.6 Involvement

Involvement was mentioned multiple times as something to take into consideration by the respondents. They pointed out it is important to involve the employees in the change

process. The commercial manager mentioned involvement as an important positive influence on the motivation of employees:

It is important that you involve people in the whole change process, in this way they will feel the engagement and this will increase their motivation (Commercial manager)

Also the commercial assistant mentioned involvement as an import positive influence on the motivation of employees:

You should listen well to what is going on the work floor and also talk to the

employees about where might be improvements. By talking with people about their daily activities and also just ask if they have ideas about improvement points, some things may come up that are very interesting to imply. Moreover, the employee will feel that he is heard and that is just very good. If people feel heard and involved, that is very important for their motivation (Commercial assistant)

The commercial assistant mentioned that it is important for employees to feel heard and involved. By letting employees share their ideas about possible improvements, you will achieve two things: firstly, you might hear an actual good improvement, which could be implemented. Secondly, the employee will feel engaged. The technical manager also stressed the importance of having people share their ideas:

I try to get people engaged to give them the feeling they are allowed to think along and to give them the feeling that they are heard. That it is their system, because if I will just hand it down, that does not work. I try to get a person from every department who will think along, from every section. By getting multiple people involved, with also a lot of different ideas and perspectives, the new system has to be a success

(Technical manager)

The financial administrator mentioned that she would like it if she would be able to look into the new system every once in a while. Moreover, she thinks letting the employees look along with the new system will reduce insecurity among employees about the new ERP system.

I would want to see some more of the new system and maybe work with it now and then to see how it looks like. We looked at it but we did not work with it yet or

something. I would like to do that. I also think it is good that you let people look along with what you are doing (Financial administrator

However, not all employees who will work with the new system were involved in the change process. The project employee mentioned that the new system was too comprehensive to let everyone involved in the system change process

Involvement is difficult considering that it is important to get all the trash out of the new system first, we make sure the foundation is there and that the daily activities are implemented. It is just too much to let everyone share the decision-making, in that way, the preparation phase will take too long (Project employee)

4.7 Workable system

The question for a workable system was posed multiple times by multiple respondents. Employees from all departments mentioned that the people implementing the change should take into consideration that the new system should be workable, the people implementing the change had to make sure that the employees were able to do in the new system what they are able to do in the current system.

Arrange the system and make sure it is workable for us later (Financial administrator)

The system has to be good and well-arranged and the people who are going to work with it should be committed to it (Technical manager)

The project employee and the financial manager, both directly involved in the ERP system change process, mentioned that the system has to be workable as well.

We should not forget that in first instance the product has to be workable before we implement all kind of extra functions. That is why we are going to make sure the system is workable at first, that the foundation is there and that the employees are able to work with it. We realize that we should introduce the system slowly and we take the employees who are going to work with it really into consideration, that it is also a workable system for them (Project employee)

It is important that everyone is able to do their job with the new system (Financial manager)

The technical managers have a practical mind-set. So it was mentioned multiple times that the ERP system should be kept simple system for them, because they have not been

working with a system the last few years. For them to learn to handle the new ERP system, it should be clear what they should do, otherwise they will resist. For them this ERP system change will have the most impact. Therefore, the financial administrator stresses that the new system should be kept simple for the technical managers.

But for the guys (Technical service) it should be kept simple, not too many buttons. Keep it practical that they are able to the work place quickly (Financial administrator)

4.8 Factors stressed as important by employees with different personality traits to get employees committed to an ERP system change

This section will examine the factors the employees with different personalities stressed as important to get employees committed to an ERP system change. I will analyze if there are differences in the strength and relevance of these factors between the different personalities of the respondents.

4.9 Ignorance

An interesting finding from the results is that responses form the respondents which were coded as opportunity to try the system, support and ignorance were mainly given by people who scored high on agreeableness. The responses were given by respondents with the respectively percentages on agreeableness: 83%, 72%, 93%, 93% and 89%. Remarkably, the commercial assistant, who scored 94% on agreeableness, did not mention anything that could be coded as an opportunity to try the system, support or ignorance. The responses were mainly about the time the employees should be given to get used to the system. Also support for the employees who need it were mentioned multiple times.

4.10 Relationship of trust

Another interesting finding was that the people who scored high on conscientiousness stressed the importance of the existence of a relationship of trust between the employees. Especially the commercial manager and the technical manager stressed the importance of having an open and respectful working atmosphere. Both the commercial manager as the technical manager scored 93% on conscientiousness. The commercial assistant, who scored 94% on conscientiousness, mentioned the small organization as a factor on how well the employees are informed. However, the financial manager 1, who scored 92% on

4.11 Recognize the benefit

From the answers of the respondents and observational research no remarkable differences between the different personalities was recognized concerning answers on recognizing the benefit of the ERP system

4.12 Communication

Communication and clarity were stressed as important factors to get employees committed in an ERP system change by multiple respondents with multiple personalities. Yet, the

respondents who scored the highest on extraversion mainly stressed the importance of clear communication. The financial administrator, the technical manager and project employee scored respectively 93%, 92% and 96% on extraversion all mentioned clear communication as a crucial positive influence on the commitment of employees. Also the commercial manager, who scored above average on extraversion with 78% was clear about the importance of communication in the change process. Therefore, the research pointed out people scoring higher on extraversion talked about clear communicating to the employees more than people who were rated more as introverts.

4.13 Workable system

From the answers of the respondents and observational research no remarkable differences between the different personalities was recognized concerning answers on stressing the importance of a workable system of the ERP system

Involvement

From the answers of the respondents and observational research no remarkable differences between the different personalities was recognized concerning answers on involvement of employees on the change process

4.14 Conscientiousness

The most interesting finding was that the people who scored higher on conscientiousness seemed to have more of a plan to prevent resistance among employees against and get them committed to or satisfied about the ERP system. They were more clear about what the people implementing the change should take into consideration. They also seemed to be more determined in how to deal with the people in such a change process. When analysing the interviews and observing the respondents, it was recognizable that conscientious people tend to have more of a plan to implement such an ERP system change.

And I think we should do a presentation to inform the employees what they might expect from the new system. You know, not too difficult, just bring it over positively.

They need to recognize the benefit, if they recognize that, they will get along (Technical manager, 93% on conscientiousness)

It is important that you involve the employees in the system change process, as long as they feel involved, their motivation will rise. […] I think it is important to clearly communicate to the employees about what they might be able to expect (Commercial manager, 93% on conscientiousness)

5. Discussion

This chapter discusses the results of this study, with special attention to the factors which are stressed as important by the different employees with different personality traits to get

employees committed to or satisfied about an ERP system change. At Van Tunen, the employees all realized there was a necessity for change, so none of them mentioned that they did not understand why there was a necessity for change. Several important factors were mentioned by the respondents. From the results of the paper, I am able to conclude that what employees stress as important factors to get employees committed to an ERP system change, these same factors will get them committed to ERP system change. The factors are: personality and character, communication, recognizing the benefit, relationship of trust, ignorance, involvement and workable system. The results of the research pointed out that there are differences between the people with different personalities in what they found important factors influencing the commitment of employees to an ERP system change. Firstly, communication was mainly stressed as an important factor by respondents scoring high on extraversion. Secondly, relationship of trust was mainly mentioned by respondents scoring high on conscientiousness. Thirdly, the factors concerning ignorance were mainly stressed as important by respondents scoring high on agreeableness. Fourthly,

conscientious respondent seemed to have more of a plan to prevent resistance among employees and get them committed to or satisfied about the ERP system. Finally, no remarkable differences between the answers of the employees with different personalities were found concerning recognizing the benefit, involvement and workable system. The findings will be discussed and linked to previous research to see is there is a connection and if the results might be underpinned. Furthermore, this section will discuss the theoretical contribution, limitations of the research, make suggestions for further research and give practical guidance.

Providing time for employees to practice with the system and providing extra support when necessary were mentioned mainly by respondents who scored high on agreeableness. Most of these responses were based on care for others and help for those who need it. The mind-set of these responses tend to be in line with personality traits from people who could be categorized as agreeable. Because agreeable people tend to work well with others and have a warm and friendly character (Robbins, 2011). Robbins also mentioned that support and interactivity were stressed as important factors by agreeable people, and that is in line with what I found in my research.

5.2 Communication

Insecurity among employees about the ERP system negatively influences the commitment of the employees about the system change. Insecurity may even cause resistance. People want to have clarity about why the organization has to change and how they will benefit from that system change. If these questions remain unanswered, they will resist (Yeager and Saggese, 2008). Clear communication may reduce insecurity among employees. Especially respondents who scored high on extraversion mentioned clear communication as an

important factor in an ERP system change. Communication is crucial, because if employees know all the facts and benefits of the system change and all misunderstandings are rectified, the resistance among employees will change. Another way for communication to reduce insecurity is that the management is able to stress the necessity of the change (Yeager and Saggese, 2008). The finding that mainly people who scored high on extraversion stressed the importance of communication, is in line with characteristics of extraversion. Extravert people generally have more social skills and perform better at jobs which include a lot of interpersonal interaction. Moreover, extravert people tend to have a more proactive attitude (George, Helson & John, 2011). The extravert respondents showed these personality traits and seemed to feel more comfortable at communicating and that is why they tend to mention clear communication as an important factor influencing satisfaction of employees about an ERP system. The extravert respondents have more social skills communicating and also regarded clear communication as important in reducing insecurity of employees about the system change.

5.3 Recognize the benefit and a workable system

From the interviews it may be concluded that all the respondents with the different

personalities are seemed to stress the importance of a workable system and that the benefit of the new system should be recognized. Yeager and Saggese (2008) mentioned that people will resist to change if they are afraid that they do not have the capabilities to deal with the new system and meet the needs of the organization. So the employees need the certainty

that they are able to work with the new ERP system. This will reduce the insecurity (Yeager and Saggese, 2008). From the research it could not be concluded that there was a difference between the different personalities of people stressing the importance of recognizing the benefit. This also means that if the management shows the employees the benefits of the new ERP system, the satisfaction of all employees will be positively influenced. Yen, Hu, Hsu & Li (2015) emphasized that the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance positively influences the success of a new ERP system. This research also mentioned perceived usefulness as crucial for the

commitment of the employees about the new system. Furthermore, the most straight positive influence, it will increase the satisfaction of employees as they perceive the new system as good and workable (Yen et al., 2015).

5.4 Relationship of trust

The research found a connection between the conscientiousness of people and the

importance of having a relationship of trust among employees. The commercial manager and technical manager were mainly concerned with the relationship of trust. They both scored high on conscientiousness. It could be that it is not the personality conscientiousness is connected to emphasizing the importance of having a relationship of trust, but their function. Managers tend to be concerned with the working climate (Kruger & Rootman, 2010).

However, people with a conscientious personality generally have more career success because they tend to work harder, more organized, result-oriented and these characteristics have a strong positive relationship with achievements on the job (Robbins, 2011). So in general, managers generally have a conscientious personality (Robbins, 2011). This might explain why the technical manager and the commercial manager were mainly the ones emphasizing a relationship of trust among their employees.

5.5 Involvement

Previous research has indicated that managers or employees who are not emotionally

involved in the change process prefer the current situation and have a big chance of resisting to the changing process. Getting the employees in the decision-making process reduces resistance (Robbins, 2011). Involvement was mentioned by multiple respondents with different personalities. Involvement seemed to be important for all employees in the ERP system change process. Getting involved in the change process has different consequences. Firstly, getting involved in the change process provides information about the new system and the provided information reduces insecurity about the new system, which is beneficial for

the commitment of the employees. Secondly, involving employees in the change process gives the employees that they are being taken into consideration and they will have the feeling they are being heard, which is also beneficial for their motivation (Robbins, 2011). Yeager and Saggese (2008) stressed the importance of removing uncertainty among employees. Getting the employees involved will reduce their insecurity, which is important because insecurity might lead to resistance (Yeager and Saggese, 2008).

5.6 Conscientiousness

From the interviews it was clear that people who scored higher on conscientiousness seemed to have more of a plan to prevent resistance against the ERP system. They were more clear about what the people implementing the change should take into consideration. This is explainable because previous research pointed out that conscientious people tend to work more systematic, organized and seem to be better at planning events (Robbins, 2011). Therefore the finding in the research is underpinned by previous research.

5.7 Theoretical contribution

An ERP system is able to provide benefits for the organization. Yet, the implementation of such a radical system is complex. Employees with different personalities may have different perceptions of what important factors are to get employees committed to or satisfied about an ERP system change. Managers should take these different perceptions into account, because if they recognize the different personality traits in the workplace, they will be better able to cope with the different employees and their personalities, to eventually get them fully committed to the new situation. Research has been done on ERP systems and how to create commitment among employees to an ERP system change. Yet, differences between

perceptions about what factors are stressed as important to employees with different personalities to get employees committed to or satisfied about an ERP system change is unexamined. Therefore, this paper provides an extra dimension to the researches on how to get employees committed to or satisfied about an ERP system change.

5.8 Limitations & future research

A limitation of this research is that it was conducted in only one organization. Conducting the research at multiple organizations will improve the reliability, also because in every

organization an ERP system change is different. Not every ERP system is the same.

Moreover, nine interviews were done, but having more interviews with employees with even more differences in personality traits will improve the reliability of the research. Another aspect is the impact of the change, because all employees experience the same ERP