How SMEs chose their integrated information systems : risks of the pre-implementation process

The pre-implementation process (PPI) covers all activities leading to the choice of a software solution which is then implemented in a firm. This process is crucial to the success of any project information system but it is often overlooked by SMEs. This article is focused on risk reduction and deals with the PPI performance in the implementation of integrated information systems. Based on adapted existing frameworks, the article analyzes twelve cases of SMEs launching their integrated management system adoption : three SMEs stopped their project while nine SMEs have a successful PPI, including five cases experiencing time overruns. The analysis of the cases allows us to build and empirically validate a new grid of PPI risks adapted to SMEs. This grid shows several factors previously neglected in the risk analysis. Finally, the article discusses several lessons about SMEs specificities in choosing their integrated information system.