Coordinating the processes of resource enrichment and capability deployment: Lessons from IT implementation at a medium-sized accounting firm

• Published in: International journal of accounting and information management 2014-09, Vol.22 (4), p.357-374
• Main Authors: Pan, Gary, Teoh, Sayyen, Seow, Poh Sun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accounting firms; Audits; Competitive advantage; Enterprise resource planning; Extensible Business Reporting Language; Information systems; Information technology; Interviews; Organizational behavior; Resource management; Small & medium sized enterprises-SME; Software upgrading; Strategic planning; Studies
• ISSN: 1834-7649; 1834-7649; 1758-9037
• DOI: 10.1108/IJAIM-07-2013-0043

Purpose Increasingly, organizations need to respond to wide range of information technology (IT) based opportunities and pressures. The situation is no different in an accounting firm. Many accounting practitioners have advocated investment in IT to improve accounting firms’ productivity. To date, there are many instances of how IT has radically transformed the nature of accounting practice. Nevertheless, little is known about how IT capability is developed in small and medium-sized accounting firms. In particular, the resource enrichment process during IT capability development has been understudied. The purpose of our paper has been to address our research question of how are the processes of resource enrichment and capability deployment coordinated during IT implementation at a small and medium-sized accounting firm? Design/methodology/approach Our strategy was to undertake qualitative case research of an ERP systems upgrading project at SMAF. The case study approach is particularly appropriate for our exploratory study since it allows us to capture the organizational dynamics of the phenomenon better (Newman & Sabherwal, 1996; Yin, 2003). Its strength also lies in its ability to explain the phenomenon based on the interpretation of data (Klein & Myers, 1999). We will next explain our case study approach. We approached our fieldwork at SMAF, with a premise that resource enrichment and capability development exist and identifiable using an existing theoretical lens. Accordingly, our study draws on Sirmon et al. (2007)’s concept of resource enrichment process and objectively studied the IT capability development process through the resource enrichment lens. At the same time, we also recognized that resource enrichment and capability development may have their own unique characteristics unrelated to any theoretical models offered in the organizational literature. Findings The purpose of our paper has been to address our research question of how resource enrichment process may occur during IT capability development process of a small and medium-sized accounting firm. In this study, we have used resource based view of firms as our analytical lens. We have drawn on SMAF’s ACCPAC system upgrading experience by interviewing relevant project stakeholders and reviewing secondary data extensively. Our analysis identified two actions that were instrumental in enriching resources in the IT capability development process: collective leadership and managing change. Th