ABSTRACT
This chapter lays out the empirical context for our investigation into the development and evolution of packaged software. We are not attempting a formal literature review, as the body of published work is very uneven in coverage, approach and quality, but instead seek to show how this work bears upon the goals of our current research to develop an integrated understanding. Chapter 1 therefore describes the history and dynamics of the software package industry, and focuses on the emergence of Commercial Off-TheShelf (COTS) packaged software solutions for complex organisational IT applications – a class of artefact that Smith and Wield (1988) describe as ‘organisational technologies’. We explore the historical evolution of what are today known as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and how they are influenced by a set of historical roots that can be traced back to stock and production control systems in the aerospace and automobile sector from the 1960s. ERP systems have been widely adopted, extending from their base in
manufacturing to many other industrial sectors, including most recently public service organisations. The idea of supplying such complex applications as packaged solutions to such a wide range of different organisations raises a number of research questions. In particular:
1 Design: given the enormous diversity between organisations and sectors, how is it that software package providers can produce solutions which seemingly meet the needs of vastly different users?
