ABSTRACT:

This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study dealing with the perceptions of key personnel from 60 business organizations all involved in the implementation of a packaged accounting information system. Findings reveal a consistent and unusual pattern in the expectations of users and management of the system during its implementation. That is, expectations about the effectiveness of the new system turn pessimistic over the course of the implementation and ultimately rise to a more realistic level. This study also finds an association between successful and failed implementations, and low and high perceptual variation among members of the same implementation team. Further, such perceptual variation is linked to the method of implementing accounting software applications and team member involvement in the selection of the new system. The implications of this paper are twofold. First, when installing packaged accounting software, system implementors should be prepared to have people's initial expectations turn pessimistic and then get better. Second, expectations of the new system over the course of implementation may affect its final outcome.