322 Inverting the Paradox of Excellence
R/3 software; SAP usual response was that the problem was not with the software but the
way the company had tried to implement it, but SAP’s reputation was harmed nevertheless.
c. Although the United States had become SAP’s biggest market, the explosive growth in
demand for SAP’s software had begun to slacken by 1995. Competitors such as Oracle,
Baan, PeopleSoft, and Marcum were catching up technically, often because they were
focusing their resources on the needs of one or a few industries or on a particular kind
of ERP module (e.g., PeopleSoft’s focus on the HRM module). Indeed, SAP had to play
catch-up in the HRM area and develop its own to offer a full suite of integrated business
solutions. Or