Abstract

Globalization and the expanded nature of business operations are driving organizations to use enterprise resource planning software. Since home-grown enterprise resource planning software are developed to fit organizations’ requirements and procedures, organizations are better in accepting these systems than commercial enterprise resource planning packages. However, home-grown enterprise resource planning software engineers, especially in the context of developing countries, have been facing threats from organizations, customers and managers. This study aimed at identifying the determinants and threats of home-grown enterprise resource planning software engineers by using grounded theory. In this study, grounded theory appaoch was used in the collection, analysis and interpretation of the home-grown enterprise resource planning software engineers in Ethiopia. Having inductively analysed the data gathered by using semi-structured interview and field observation, six themes of determinants and threats, namely requirement dynamics, resistance to change, mismanagement, conflict of interest, poor planning, and licensure gaps, were emerged. A total of nineteen subcategories were also found from those critical threats. Those emerged determinants and threats of enterprise resource planning software could be used by software engineering and research practices. The findings can be applicable to other developing countries having similar contextual characteristics with Ethiopia.