Interconnected enterprise systems - A call for new teaching approaches

Abstract

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERPS) have continually extended their scope over the last decades. The evolution has currently reached a stage where ERPS support the entire value chain of an enterprise. This study deals with the rise of a new era, where ERPS is transformed into so-called interconnected Enterprise Systems (iES), which have a strong outside-orientation and provide a networked ecosystem open to human and technological actors (e.g. social media, Internet of Things). Higher education institutions need to prepare their students to understand the shift and to transfer the implications to today’s business world. Based on literature and applied learning scenarios the study shows existing approaches to the use of ERPS in teaching and elaborates whether and how they can still be used. In addition, implications are outlined and the necessary changes towards new teaching approaches for iES are proposed.