Journal Article

Exploring Student Perceptions of ERP Systems: The Role of User Experience in System Playfulness and Anxiety

J Shim, Sung

2025

Overview

Aim/Purpose: This study addresses the gap in understanding how students’ perceptions of the SAP ERP system - specifically system playfulness and system anxiety - evolve as they gain experience. The study seeks to determine how these perceptions influence user engagement and system adoption in academic environments, where ERP systems are increasingly integrated into curricula. Background: Despite the widespread use of SAP ERP in education, little research has examined the dynamic nature of students’ positive (playfulness) and negative (anxiety) perceptions as they interact with the system over time. This paper explores how increased experience with SAP ERP affects these key perceptual factors, offering insights relevant to both theory and practice. Methodology: A pre-post test survey was conducted with 56 upper-level undergraduate business students enrolled in a course utilizing SAP ERP. Students’ perceptions of system playfulness and system anxiety were measured using validated scales at two points during the semester: early (after initial exposure) and late (after extensive hands-on experience). Factor analysis confirmed the validity of the constructs, and paired t-tests assessed changes in perceptions over time. Contribution: This study contributes to the literature by empirically demonstrating how user experience shapes both positive and negative perceptions of ERP systems in an educational setting. It provides evidence that system anxiety decreases and system playfulness increases with experience, informing strategies for improving ERP training and adoption. Findings: System playfulness and system anxiety are valid, distinct constructs influencing user perceptions of SAP ERP. As students gain more experience with SAP ERP, system anxiety significantly decreases, while system playfulness moderately increases. Despite increased experience, overall perceptions of playfulness remain neutral, suggesting that SAP ERP is not inherently engaging for students. The reduction in anxiety is more pronounced than the increase in playfulness, indicating that familiarity primarily alleviates negative perceptions rather than enhancing positive ones. Recommendations for Practitioners: Training programs should prioritize reducing system anxiety through early, supportive, and hands-on exposure to ERP systems. Efforts to make ERP systems more engaging should be incorporated, but reducing apprehension may yield greater improvements in user satisfaction and adoption. Recommendation for Researchers: Future studies should explore additional factors influencing playfulness and anxiety, such as instructional design, interface usability, and peer support. Research should examine whether similar perceptual changes occur in professional or non-academic contexts and with other ERP platforms. Impact on Society: Improving the user experience of ERP systems in educational settings can better prepare students for digital workplaces, increase technology adoption rates, and reduce barriers to learning complex enterprise software. Future Research: Future research should investigate interventions that explicitly target playfulness to enhance engagement, extending such studies across diverse populations and organizational settings to improve the generalizability of findings. Additionally, longitudinal designs that go beyond a single semester are needed to examine the lasting impacts of these experiences on individuals’ perceptions over time.