Project champion
According to Howell and Higgins [16], project champions
“make a decisive contribution to the innovation process by
actively and enthusiastically promoting the innovation, building
support, overcoming resistance and ensuring that the innovation
is implemented” (p.40). The crucial role of a project champion
in ERP implementation is consistently demonstrated in ERP
studies (for example, [41]; [29]). These studies established that
the project champion should be a senior manager, someone who
is able to negotiate for the resources needed to move an idea to
fruition and who understands the underlying technology as well as
the business and organisational context. These attributes are well
reflected in the QH project. However, in the QH project the role
of the project champion is complicated by the fact that the ITIL
implementation is subsumed within the larger Transformation
Program, thus giving rise to a complex environment for project
execution. The roll-out of new ITIL processes proved to be
particularly challenging amidst the job uncertainty and sporadic
redeployment of QHID staff, including senior members in the
project team. To compound the problem, the implementation