Dual-framework governance model for SAP S/4HANA implementation at pwc Algeria: A qualitative study

Abstract

This research examines dual-framework governance dynamics in the context of an SAP S/4HANA implementation led by a major consulting firm. Two distinct methodological authorities coexist in the studied project: SAP Activate, the vendor's phase-based technical methodology (Discover, Prepare, Explore, Realize, Deploy, Run), and PwC Transform, the proprietary strategic framework of PricewaterhouseCoopers devoted to enterprise transformation, value realization, and change management. This dual configuration, only fragmentarily studied in the academic literature, generates governance tensions, information asymmetries, and agency costs that weigh on the operational execution of the project. Grounded in an interpretivist philosophy and mobilizing abductive reasoning, the study adopts an instrumental single-case strategy. Data are generated through three complementary sources: ten semi-structured interviews with stakeholders drawn from five hierarchical levels (senior managers, managers, PMO, senior consultants, junior consultants), participant observation conducted by the researchers embedded in the project team, and documentary analysis of internal governance artifacts. Thematic analysis, supported by NVivo software, follows Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase framework and draws on three theoretical lenses: Structuration Theory (Giddens, 1984) at the micro level, Agency Theory (Jensen and Meckling, 1976) at the meso level, and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (Teece, 2007) at the macro level. The findings reveal four governance gaps: the register and reality gap, visibility fragmentation, role-stratified perception asymmetry, and the permission economy. Three theoretical contributions emerge: an extension of the duality of structure to inter-methodology interfaces, the conceptualization of compounded agency costs including agent-to-agent asymmetry, and an infrastructural reading of meta-governance capability. The applied contribution takes the form of a coordination platform with five functional pillars, prototyped and illustrated through six interface views, designed to absorb the « translation tax » that dual governance currently externalizes onto delivery teams.