An Investigation and Classifcation of ERP Project Managers’ Required Skills

Abstract

ImplementationofEnterpriseResourcePlanningsystems(ERPs)is a complex and costly process thatisusuallyaccompaniedwithseriousrisks.Numerousresearchprojectshavebeenconductedto illuminate ERP Critical Success Factors (CSFs)soastoidentifythemainfactorsinenhancingsuccess rate.Although project managers’skills of ERP system implementation projects are viewed as one of the most effective factors in the success of such projects,scant attention has been paid to them and their unique aspects have not been sufficiently discussed in the extant literature.Hence,this article aims at identifying the most relevant skills of ERP project managers and proposing a classification scheme.BasedontheresultsoftherobustExploratoryFactorAnalysis(EFA),16identifiedskills were grouped in to four distinct categories:“managerial,”“project management,”“human resource,” and“technical.”The results of this articlec an help scholars and managers to grasp an in-depth understanding of the skills required for project managers and the challenges they have to mitigate while implementing ERP projects.