| Article ID: | iaor19911443 |
| Country: | Netherlands |
| Volume: | 19 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Start Page Number: | 53 |
| End Page Number: | 59 |
| Publication Date: | Aug 1990 |
| Journal: | Information and Management |
| Authors: | Saraswat Satya Prakash, Gorgone John T. |
| Keywords: | learning |
Findings of an empirical investigation conducted to determine the presence of an organizational learning curve in the implementation of software packages for business applications are presented in this paper. Time spent by teams on the implementation of forty software packages on various mainframe, mini, and turnkey systems over a period of six years is analyzed. There is an organizational learning curve in the process of software implementation, and its magnitude varies from 6 to 36 percent. Higher rates of learning were observed for packages implemented on mainframes than those on mini-computers and turnkey systems. The paper suggests that these findings can be utilized for measuring and improving organizational productivity in the areas of software development and implementation and cost-benefit analysis of large systems projects.