Success Factors and Barriers for Implementation of IT Systems: The Case of Polish SMEs

IT systems play a crucial role in the functioning of many businesses. IT tools improve the performance of internal processes, but also facilitate contacts with co-operators, customers and government. Polish small and medium-sized enterprises have high rate of computer and the Internet usage (Giannakouris & Smihily, 2013, p. 2; Berezowska et al., 2013, pp. 37-39), but the level of effectiveness of the implementation projects and the associated efficiency of the deployed IT tools is relatively low, as the result of implementation process depends on many economical, technical, organizational, behavioural, or psychological determinants. The publication presents the results of research conducted among 103 Polish companies, providers and recipients of IT services. Analysis presented in the article is a part of a broader research conducted in the years 2011-2013 on the IT systems implementation effectiveness in the Polish SMEs. The article includes description of attitudes towards monitoring of the factors affecting the effectiveness of IT implementation processes, main factors positively affecting the implementation procedure and barriers for IT systems deployment. The research shows that prior to the implementation process IT service providers and recipients try to identify factors that may affect its effectiveness. The most important factors include: team experience, expertise of implementation team members, communication skills and the employees discipline. The key barriers for implementation process are: resistance of workers, the possibility of additional, unplanned costs as well as the emerging changes in customer requirements.