Are Enterprise System Benefits the Same for Universities as they are for Supermarkets?

Enterprise Systems have become the default support systems for business processes in commercial organisations. Their promise of increased efficiency and effectiveness fits well with profit-based strategic objectives, and can be linked directly to customer choice. The last fifteen years have seen extensive implementation of Enterprise Systems in the University sector. While efficiency and effectiveness may be important in this sector, they are not linked directly to customer choice – the concept of a customer is complex, and choices may include many influences which are unaffected by administrative processes. Using one Australian and one Danish University as examples, an analysis of the benefits from using Enterprise Systems in Universities and in supermarkets is undertaken. There are some differences in the nature of those benefits. More importantly, differences in links between those benefits and the effect on customer choice are pronounced, with significant impacts for research and practical implications of Enterprise Systems.