Building the hybrid organisation through ERP and enterprise social software

2016 
A Chinese service company is using a combined ERP and ESS system for its customer processing.We use the term hybrid ERP to describe the combined ERP and ESS system.The case study outlines how the hybrid ERP helped facilitate the establishment of a hybrid organisation that offers the potential to incorporate both formal processes and informal processes that are directed towards organisational goals.The research provides a definition of a hybrid organisation that can be facilitated by the use of a hybrid ERP system. This research traces the implementation of an information system in the form of ERP modules covering tenant and contract management in a Chinese service company. Misalignments between the ERP system specification and user needs led to the adoption of informal processes within the organisation. These processes are facilitated within an informal organisational structure and are based on human interactions undertaken within the formal organisation. Rather than to attempt to suppress the emergence of the informal organisation the company decided to channel the energies of staff involved in informal processes towards organisational goals. The company achieved this by harnessing the capabilities of what we term a hybrid ERP system, combining the functionality of a traditional (formal) ERP installation with the capabilities of Enterprise Social Software (ESS). However the company recognised that the successful operation of the hybrid ERP system would require a number of changes in organisational design in areas such as reporting structures and communication channels. A narrative provided by interviews with company personnel is thematised around the formal and informal characteristics of the organisation as defined in the literature. This leads to a definition of the characteristics of the hybrid organisation and strategies for enabling a hybrid organisation, facilitated by a hybrid ERP system, which directs formal and informal behaviour towards organisational goals and provides a template for future hybrid implementations.
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