Impact of ERP systems usage on organizational agility: An empirical investigation in the banking sector

Purpose - Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can be considered as cornerstone that allows most organizations to achieve their business goals. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of ERP system usage on agility in organizations. Design/methodology/approach - The data were collected from 90 branches of well-known banks in the Middle East, such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and Arab Bank. Data were analyzed using a path analysis methodology. Findings - A new model has been developed. An empirical investigation was performed on the banking sector in the Middle East to test the new model. Despite the results showing that the impact of ERP system usage on banks' agility is significant, the variance of banks' agility that is explained by the use of ERP systems is weak. This indicates that ERP usage may not influence sufficiently the current agility drivers in Middle-Eastern banks and that there may be other significant variables that contribute to agility in the banking sector. Research limitations/implications - The findings of this research were based on a survey conducted among banks in the Middle East. The results are applicable in Middle-Eastern banks, but may not be applicable in other regions. Practical implications - Banking practitioners in the Middle East should be aware that successful implementation of ERP systems may not lead to the achievement of sufficient competency, flexibility, quickness, and responsiveness. Hence, such implementation may not deliver banking agility. Originality/value - This research model investigates the impact of ERP usage on the agility of banks in the Middle East.