Purpose -This paper seeks to build and validate a typological profile of manufacturing small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in regard to their eventual adoption of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, based on the predisposition of their environmental, organizational, and technological context. Design/methodology/approach -Provides cluster analysis of secondary questionnaire data obtained from a benchmarking database of 356 Canadian manufacturing SMEs. Findings -Three types of SMEs were obtained: 140 "internally predisposed" SMEs, 60 "externally predisposed" SMEs, and 156 "unfavourably disposed" SMEs. Originality/value -Provides a valid framework for analysis that can serve ERP vendors and consultants, as well as SME owner-managers, the first to better target their offer of products/services, and the second to better position their firm before contemplating the implementation of an ERP system.

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The need to strategically manage IT resources such that they enhance the business value of firms makes IT governance (ITG), in conjunction with IT alignment, an ongoing issue for IS researchers and practitioners. In addressing this issue, the present study aims to validate a research model that relates, within a strategic IT management framework, the firm's ITG and IT alignment capabilities to its IT performance. To do so, a survey of 223 manufacturing SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) was realized. Results confirm the hypothesized relationships between the firm's environmental uncertainty, strategic IT orientation, IT governance and IT alignment capabilities. They constitute a solid validation of the impact of the strategic management of IT resources and governance of IT on IT performance in the specific context of SMEs.