The purpose of this paper is to frame next‐generation enterprise systems (ES).
The model is based on a retrospective analysis of the evolution of enterprise systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) research and emerging business requirements.
The paper proposes a conceptual framework for extended enterprise resource planning (ERP II). The aim of this model is to compile present ES concepts into a comprehensive outline of ERP II, thus composing a generic map and taxonomy for corporate‐wide enterprise systems.
The paper concludes that the ERP research needs to broaden its perspective in order to accommodate itself to the new issues of next‐generation enterprise systems.
The model is seen as a first step towards a tool to analyse and design complex enterprise systems architecture.
This paper is the first attempt to formalize and capture the ERP II concept and the next‐generation enterprise systems.
