Want to get a good argument going in IT circles? Ask someone about the effectiveness and ROI of Enterprise Resource Planning software—programs designed to integrate the scattered functions of a company onto a single computer system.

Enter Harvard Business School postdoctoral fellow Mark J. Cotteleer, whose recent working paper explored the influence of ERP software on a company's operational performance. In general, he says, ERP has paid off for companies that install systems correctly. In an e-mail interview with HBS Working Knowledge's Sarah Jane Johnston, Cotteleer discusses the success and failures of ERP programs and how to avoid implementation pitfalls.

Johnston: What is the current investment in ERP today, and at what rate are firms implementing these software applications?