ERP projects and IT infrastructure capabilities: How success factors enable stability and flexibility

While prior research has extensively examined enterprise resource planning (ERP) project success, limited attention has been paid to the mechanisms through which ERP projects contribute to the development of IT infrastructure capabilities. Drawing on the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory, this study examines how organizational and project-related success factors enable the reconfiguration of IT infrastructure capabilities, specifically stability and flexibility, during ERP implementation. The research adopts a two-stage empirical design. First, an exploratory qualitative phase based on interviews with ERP vendors and Saudi small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was conducted to identify key success determinants and refine measurement constructs. Second, a confirmatory study using survey data collected from 192 Saudi SMEs that implemented ERP systems between 2018 and 2024 was carried out, and the proposed research model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) with 18 hypotheses structured around two dependent variables: IT infrastructure stability and flexibility. The findings indicate that project team composition, business process reengineering, ERP project requirements definition, and vendor, client relationship quality significantly enhance IT infrastructure stability and flexibility. IT infrastructure stability further acts as a mediating pathway toward flexibility, confirming a progressive reconfiguration logic consistent with dynamic capabilities theory. In contrast, excessive top management involvement negatively affects infrastructure flexibility, revealing a tension between centralized control and technological agility. By conceptualizing IT infrastructure capability improvement as a distinct outcome of ERP implementation, this study extends ERP and IT capability research and offers actionable insights for organizations managing ERP-driven digital transformation initiatives.