Assessment of Universities’ and Higher Education Centers’ Preparedness for Successful Establishment of Enterprise Resource Planning Based on SWARA Method

Abstract

Regarding existing pressures for effectiveness and performance improvement, there is a steep rise for the establishment of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Unfortunately, failure rate for successful ERP establishment is high. Thereupon, evaluation of organizations’ preparedness to ensure organizational capabilities aimed at reaching desired outcomes is of paramount importance. The current research is intended to suggest Step-wise Weight Assessment Ractio Analysis (SWARA) method and assess the preparedness of our case study, i.e. the University of Mazandaran, for successful ERP implementation. Related factors impacting on the accomplishment of the ERP system were identified from former studies and weighted according to a hierarchical structure using our suggested methodology. After receiving numerical results, the preparedness of the University of Mazandaran for successful ERP implementation was calculated when the final weights were determined. Results showed that motivations required for ERP establishment as well as processes and IT infrastructures are average, while the influencing cultural factors, protective factors, and capabilities of the organization are weak.