A risk ontology for ERP post-implementation

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have now become an integral part of organisational infrastructures. However, many companies are confronted with a wide range of risks at the post-implementation stage, namely when using, maintaining and enhancing their ERP systems. In spite urgent need for research in this area, there is a scarcity of studies focusing on post-implementation in contrast with a over abundance of studies focusing on implementation and project management aspects. This position paper aims to fill this significant research gap by presenting a risk ontology of ERP post-implementation. This ontology represents a first attempt in producing a comprehensive model in this area and consists of forty potential risks that may occur in ERP post-implementation. Additionally, the twenty predominant risks that compose the ontology, as well as their potential causes and impacts, are presented and discussed in this paper. This ontology is an important contribution for both practitioners and researchers. For practitioners, this ontology is an important tool for risk prevention, management and control, as well as, for strategic planning and decision making. For researchers, it represents a starting point for further research and provides early insights into a research field that will become increasingly important as more and more companies progress from implementation to exploitation of ERPs.