An empirical study of IS architectures in French SMEs: integration approaches

Marc Bidan (), Frantz Rowe () and Duane Truex
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Marc Bidan: EPUN - Ecole Polytechnique de l'Université de Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes, LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes
Frantz Rowe: LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - IEMN-IAE Nantes - Institut d'Économie et de Management de Nantes - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - UN - Université de Nantes, SKEMA Business School - SKEMA Business School
Duane Truex: Mid Sweden University

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Abstract: This paper, based on a cross-sectional empirical study of information system (IS) architectures within 143 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in France, reports findings on how SMEs architect to achieve IS integration and interoperability. This research provides an empirically derived taxonomy of enterprise architectural variants of the types often described in the literature for large firms. This study finds indications that for SMEs the immediate goal of interoperability prevailed over fuller and more formal system integration. The most common means for approaching enterprise architecture and any form of integration is via the construction of software bridges and interfaces. Partially standardized architectures based on Enterprise Systems (ERP) are the next most common type. Hybrid architectures – mixed Enterprise Applications Integration and ERP – are the third most common. The contribution of this paper lies not in the identification of the three types but resides (1) in the description of their distribution in SMEs; (2) in the absence of other integration/interoperability types in this population; and (3) most importantly in the interpretation of the organizational and historical rationale explaining the emergence of these types in this organizational context.

Keywords: information systems integration; IT architecture; SME (small to medium enterprise) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-12-19
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Published in European Journal of Information Systems, 2017, 21 (3), pp.287-302. ⟨10.1057/ejis.2012.12⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04823089

DOI: 10.1057/ejis.2012.12

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