Many organizations are looking to improve their performance by using available resources and trying to search for the best essential alternatives. From the literature review, it is found that public organizations (government) aim to have citizens participate, achieve customer satisfaction, promote transparency, enhance integrity, fight against corruption, and be accountable ( Egdair et al., 2020a ). The introduction of modern systems is an essential factor in enhancing and protecting the public organization’s performance in providing essential services and development ( Mahmood et al., 2023 ).

An OP of the public sector has become an integral part of the evaluation process management to see if they are achieving the strategic objectives or not and to try to find a solution for public organizations to measure performance quality, service provision, value for money, and so on ( Anaya et al., 2023 ). The public sector seeks to achieve quality customer satisfaction, and excellent performance in providing the needs of the communities. It has to be within the available budget as public organizations have more intangible goals and objectives than the private sector ( Rana et al., 2022 ).

In addition, the performance of the public sector, like that of the private sector, varies according to the goals of the business. The private sector, meanwhile, intends to make a profit. The public sector seeks to achieve quality customer satisfaction and excellent performance in meeting the needs of the communities. It has to be within the available budget, as public organizations have more intangible goals and objectives than the private sector ( Egdair et al., 2020a ).

The empirical search gap offered valuable insight into establishing ERP implementation, improving internal operational efficiency services in Libyan public sector organizations, and ensuring the organization’s sustainability services to citizens, as the core services are provided only by government organizations ( Egdair et al., 2020a ).

Finally, the study is an excellent way for managers to make the right decisions at the right time, even under the most challenging conditions in Libya. Furthermore, the economy is still motivated by state-owned organizations active in several sectors, and most employees are in the public sector ( Egdair et al., 2017 ).

Since the first waves of information and technology that emerged in most organizations worldwide in late 1990 and early 2000, it has been looking to provide the best solution for enhancing organizational performance. The ERP system is a new class of packaged application software developed the first generation by vendors of ERP systems in the era of information technology. The ERP system is complete integration software that can unify all the departments in an organization to assist in completing work with high quality and in the lowest time. Organizations worldwide have implemented the ERP system previously due to the advantages. Despite the high-cost implementations and failures in so many cases, organizations still succeed in the system in developed countries ( Mohammed & Hachicha, 2024 ).

However, the adoption and implementation of such modern systems in organizations operating in most developing countries, are still slow in most cases and not yet up to the level of the systems used in developed countries, due to the financial cost of implementing the advanced systems ( Mukred et al., 2023 ).

From another perspective, the ERP has become a rapidly growing system that is needed in organizational work practices. As to considering the importance of exploiting the new technology, there are still some organizations facing possibility to adopt and implement ERP due to different factors failingly ( Hammad et al., 2024 ).

The ERP system has made it imperative for every organization to get employees’ support and encourage them to accept the system. This is because the system’s success and failure depend on the method introduced in the organization. The adoption of an ERP system has been related to realizing abilities such as changing the dynamics of competition in terms of financial and non-financial dimensions ( Bhattacharya et al., 2023 ).

The previous researches ( Mahmood et al., 2020 ; Ranjan et al., 2016 ) have identified a number of issues and challenges, which may be termed as most critical based on their frequency and occurrence. The most first ten issues and challenges are identified include top management approach, training and development, misfits between the ERP system’s built-in processes and the organizations, change management, system integration, effective communication, business process reengineering, unreliable vendors, project management, project team formation, team empowerment, lack of skilled human resources.

However, other issues and challenges identified in Arab countries, especially in Libya, such as security risks, IT infrastructure, employees’ resistance to using the system, and misalignment between the ERP system’s offerings and the organization’s business processes are involved in ERP implementation ( Alzahrani, 2022 ; Hammad et al., 2024 ; Oumran et al., 2021 ).

Moreover, the adoption of the ERP system in Libyan organizations is not adequate although Libya has been able to enjoy wealth, and a spread of public sector. The financing of these projects is not a problem in most public organizations, whether productivity or services. Libya as one of the wealthiest countries in North Africa, did not attain enough use of technology in most public organizations be it manufacturing or services. As it was only at its infancy, there was little information about the ERP in Libya, or information technology in general. The current study tries to identify the effect of the adoption of ERP and organizational performance ( Egdair et al., 2020b ; Malik & Khan, 2021 ).

With Libyan organizations starting to get interested in adopting information technology (IT), such as ERP systems in different areas, the organizations in Libya are trying to improve their performance; the vigorous sectors of the state, including services and productive organizations, are trying to provide the country with a significant proportion of income. These organizations spend a lot of money and time to improve the areas of technology and the development of systems that allow organizations in the future to improve their performance still in need ( Emhmed et al., 2021 ).

On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook the ERP system in Libyan organizations. The empirical gap in the information technology systems in Libyan organizations of public sector, which is related to the lack of accurate information, and service by the long procedures routine that created challenges and obstacles which can be classified into technological and organizational factors ( Egdair et al., 2020b ).

Measuring ERP adoption as the independent variable of this study will be adopted in accordance with the model provided by the ERP. As one of the computer systems and the success of information systems based on key dimensions of the model provided by ( DeLone & McLean, 2003 ). This model was successful in information systems studies, information technology, electronic systems measurement, etc. In addition, these dimensions have been adopted as a standard in several studies and have received the most attention from researchers ( Delone & Mclean, 2004 ; Jenatabadi et al., 2013 ; Tsai et al., 2012 ). As follows, system quality, user satisfaction, individual impact, the organization impact.

1) System Quality: determines the degree of the information processing system itself. Measuring quality system focused mostly on the performance characteristics of the system under study ERP system ( Udo et al., 2010 ). In terms of resource use and benefit, the system also considers the best investment of resources, timing and response time, reliability and accuracy, the ability to adapt, and the possibility of maintenance ( Sohn & Tadisina, 2008 ).

2) User Satisfaction: is to determine the degree of recipient response to the use of the output of an information system ( Jenatabadi et al., 2013 ; Thong, 1999 ), user satisfaction is associated with comparing the new system and the old system; an effective response is a measure of satisfaction that determines user satisfaction ( Zaied, 2012 ).

3) Individual Impact: determines the degree of information derived by the beneficiary of the system through data processing, and how it is reflected on the impact of the behaviour of the recipient, more true, correct and quick access to achieve positive results, and this is what the organization aims to achieve generally ( Jenatabadi et al., 2013 ).

4) Organizational Impact: reflects the extent of the data and information provided by the system that impacts both already existing systems or modern system ( Mahmood & Mann, 1993 ; Melville et al., 2004 ). Then, the system provides quick and corrective information and responds to the recipients of the information accurately and in record time, as reflected in the possibility of the confidence of the beneficiary organization ( Qrunfleh & Tarafdar, 2014 ). In Table 1 . Summary measurement of variables and questionnaire instruments.

Most organizations in developed and developing countries recognize the ERP system, which is popular for information management in the professional environment worldwide ( Mahmood et al., 2023 ). For the different management areas and activities, the system highlights the advantages it offers significantly. There are other results such as a clear advantage that organizations can show higher rates of return following the implementation of the ERP. The ERP advantage cannot appear directly, but it may take a few years, at least two years, after the continued implementation of the system ( Barna et al., 2021 ).

ERP adoption is becoming widespread in the various public, governmental, and private organizations in the e-business world. It has become a powerful tool for supporting organizations’ operations, reducing operating costs, and increasing the sharing of information about resource activities ( Putra et al., 2021 ).

However, the ERP system is complex due to its need to integrate all units and adequate support necessary to successfully continue that work. However, it improves the cost, flexibility and quality performance, user satisfaction and customer satisfaction ( Mohanty et al., 2022 ).

In addition, the control process, benefits, and features that can help gather results helped explain the improved financial performance following the adoption of ERP. Information technology has affected the organisation’s ability to absorb the OP. Also, the ERP implementation aids in decision-making and proper administration and improves customer service and retention.

The successful system of ERP seems to improve the overall OP such as the efficiency and effectiveness. Recent studies have examined and addressed the concept of underlying systems, suggesting that organizations depend mostly on ERP applications. It can be utilized to maximize the benefits. ERP supports all business and internal activities of the organization. Through the integration of the functions of various business units of the organization, in one or more areas the organization provides complete information, and this leads to effective decision-making ( Abobakr et al., 2024 ; Weerasekara & Gooneratne, 2023 ). Table 2 illustrates the study variables.

The above explanation of the proposed relationship suggests that a relationship has been formed between ERP and OP. Many results exist, including positive signals from previous studies ( AlMuhayfith & Shaiti, 2020 ; Igna, 2021 ). Furthermore, there is a strong relationship between ERP and OP based on the confirmed model proposed by DeLone and McLean 1992 regarding the success of the information technology system ( Chatzoglou et al., 2017 ). On the other hand, the ERP system dimension is found to have a positive impact on OP, with a significant positive relationship between the proposed variables ERP and OP ( Mohamed & Farahat, 2019 ; Obeidat et al., 2016 ). ERP that has a direct impact on organisational performance is difficult to separate ( Putra et al., 2021 ). Figure 1 shows the study framework.

Table 2. Summary of study variables

Thus, the hypothesizes of the study can be explained in the following:

H1: There is a significant positive relationship between the ERP system and organizational performance (OP) among Libyan public organization services.

H1a: There is a significant relationship between individual impact and ERP.

H1b: There is a significant relationship between organizational impact and ERP.

H1c: There is a significant relationship between system quality and ERP.

H1d: There is a significant relationship between user satisfaction and ERP.

The main target of any empirical investigation is the accuracy of a sample size to make confident results in generalizing the results about a population. In practice, the current study is used to determine the sample size based on the expense of data gathering and the need to have appropriate statistical power; in this case, to get an accurate sample size the study used some equations and formula calculations sourced from www.calculator.net/sample-size-calculator

Based on the population of this study, there are public organizations in Libya, and the target is to obtain the actual number of public organizations in Libya. The statistics from the official website of the Libyan General Information Authority, www.gia.gov.ly indicate that Libya has 242 public organizations. According to a random sample, every organization has an equal opportunity to participate and be part of the sample.

To avoid an incorrect sample size, this formula used a formula with finite population correction in Equations (1) and (2).

$n_0=\frac{P^{\wedge }\times \left(1-P^{\wedge }\right)\times Z^2}{MO{E}^2}$ (1)

$n=\frac{n_0}{1+\frac{n_0}{N}}$ (2)

with:

n₀: sample size pre-correction (rounded up)

p̂ = 0.5

z = 1.96

MOE = 0.05

N = 242

n = sample size

$n_0=\frac{0.5\times 0.5\times {1.96}^2}{{0.05}^2}=384$ (3)

n₀ = 384

$n=\frac{384}{1+\frac{384}{242}}=148.44$ (4)

n = 148.44 ≃ 149

With a margin of error of ±0.05% and an expected sample proportion of 0.5, the sample size would need to be 149.

Based on the results above, 149 organizations are needed to complete the survey to fulfill the purpose of this study since a larger sample size would be more representative of the study population. The unit of analysis for this study is naturally the organization level.

Therefore, one of the top management or executive management team managers was selected from each organization to test the hypothesized relationships on the public organizational level ( Christiansen et al., 2022 ). Only one questionnaire was submitted to be answered by the representative of the chosen organization, who is an expert in or dealing with an ERP system. That depends on the nature and role of the organisation, which differs from one organisation to another.

This section discusses the assessments used to measure the validity of the structural model of the current study. Assessing the structural model involves evaluating the collinearity matters, implication and significance of the relationships, the R² level, the effect sizes f², and the predictive significance Q² and the q² effect sizes ( Hair Jr et al., 2014 ).

As can be understood equally from Table 6 below, the estimates for the full structural model the direct effect is by evaluating the P-value.

Table 6. Direct relationship of the model.

P* < 0.10 (2 tailed), P** < 0.05, P*** < 0.01(2 tailed). Note: ERP = Enterprises Resources Planning, II = Individual Impact, OI = Organization Impact, SQ = System Quality, US = User Satisfaction, OP = Organization Performance.

As can be noticed in Table 6 , the evaluation of the full model originally, it was predicted in the first hypothesis that ERP is positively related to organizational performance with (β = 0.636, T = 6.452, P = 0.000). By implication, the ERP system has a significant direct relationship with organizational performance, and it is necessary for achieving high performance, as has been explained by the values assessment. Furthermore, the main hypothesis has four sub-hypotheses: H1a, H1b, H1c, and H1d. The results are as follows.

H1a showed that individual impact (II) is positively related to ERP (β = 0.908, T-value = 52.750, P-value = 0.000) supported the hypothesis. H1b emphasised a positive significant relationship between organisational impact (OI) and the ERP system, and it is supported in the level of (β = 0.926, T-value = 68.729, P-value = 0.000). Results of H1c between system quality (SQ) and ERP confirmed a significant positive relationship by (β = 0.887, T-value = 29.420, P-value = 0.000). Finally, the H1d between user satisfaction (US) and ERP has been explained by (β = 0.885, T-value = 41.740, P-value = 0.001).

In the final step of the structural model, the researcher needs to assess the predictive relevance (Q²). This procedure is accepted following the Stone-Geisser test for predictive relevance ( Geisser, 1975 ; Sarstedt et al., 2014 ; Stone, 1974 ). It should be (Q2 > 0), and it can be calculated by the blindfolding procedure in PLS-SEM. The procedure aims to compare the original values with the predicted values of endogenous constructs that have a reflective measurement model specification and to the endogenous single-item construct ( Sarstedt et al., 2019 ). The Stone-Geisser test of predictive relevance is normally used to calculate the goodness-of-fit in PLS-SEM ( Duarte & Raposo, 2010 ).

However, the current study used blindfolding to define the predictive relevance of the study model. The use of the blindfolding method to achieve Q² = 1-SSE/SSO is from the constructed cross-validated redundancy report. If Q² is positive, the model has predictive validity; if it is negative, the model does not have any predictive validity ( Hair Jr et al., 2014 ). The reflective dimension model recognises that a latent or unobservable perception causes a difference in some established indicators. Therefore, since all endogenous latent variables in the current study are reflective, a blindfolding technique was generally applied to these variables. The main results have been illustrated in Table 7 .

In Table 7 , the sum of the squared observations (SSO) and the sum of the squared prediction errors (SSE) was obtained. The table also provides the model’s Q² value. Q² = 1-SSE/SSO, Q² for all endogenous latent variables were above zero, suggesting the predictive relevance of the model ( Chin, 1998 ; Henseler et al., 2009 ). The final assessment lies in the q² effect size. This procedure should be computed manually because smart PLS does not provide this technique. Noticeably, the q² values of 0.02, 0.015, and 0.35 represent small, medium, and large predictive relevance, respectively ( Benitez et al., 2020 ).

The current study conducted these procedures for a certain endogenous construct with the Q² of the main endogenous, which is (OP), predicted by ERP, as an exogenous construct. The result illustrated in Table 8 can conclude the model’s effect size of (q²).

Generally, after presenting all the effects that have been presented in previous sections, including the main relationship among the effects, Table 9 illustrates the results of all hypotheses established and outlines the study findings.