Outsourced ERP system implementation success: The effects of client and vendor competences and their moderating roles

Previous research has overlooked how individual competence interacts with circumstances that could potentially affect the success of outsourced system implementation. This research leverages person-environment fit and expectation-disconfirmation theories to investigate how client and vendor competences, as external factors and moderators, along with partnership quality and task-technology fit, affect the performance and satisfaction in outsourced ERP system implementations. Data were collected via a survey of 414 ERP users from 12 companies and analyzed using PLS-SEM and slope analysis. The findings reveal that client and vendor competences shape task-technology fit and partnership quality, affecting performance and client satisfaction. Notably, task-technology fit does not always improve performance for highly competent clients, and satisfaction may decline when vendors are perceived as highly competent, raising client expectations. A slight misalignment between tasks and technologies may even benefit highly skilled users. Furthermore, client satisfaction with ERP outsourcing is influenced by both performance outcomes and perceptions of vendor competence. This study provides practical guidance to enhance the success of outsourced system implementations.