ERP Risk Escalation and Operational Failure in Target Canada: A Design-Reality Gap Perspective

Abstract

: In the context of cross-border retail expansion, ERP implementation is shaped not only by technical factors but also by business processes, employee capabilities, supplier coordination, and management objectives. Target Canada provides a particularly relevant case because its rapid entry into the Canadian market coincided with the implementation of a new ERP, and supply chain problems contributed to its eventual market withdrawal. Drawing on the design-reality gap perspective, this study examines the major gaps within Target Canada’s information systems project and the interactions among them. The findings show that the project’s failure resulted from multiple mismatches involving technology, data, business processes, employee capabilities, external collaboration, and management objectives. Further analysis indicates that technical and social-organizational factors reinforced one another, allowing information systems problems to spread progressively to supply chain operations and front-end retail activities. Based on the case analysis, the study further develops a process framework for understanding the formation and propagation of ERP project risks.