Abstract
Enterprise Resource Planning research has predominantly examined adoption drivers and implementation success factors, offering limited insight into why firms subsequently reimplement systems that remain technically operational. This paper reconceptualises ERP reimplementation in SMEs as a dual pathway sociotechnical correction process. Drawing on Socio-Technical Systems Theory and dominant logic theory, we introduce the concept of sociotechnical drift the gradual decoupling between historically embedded digital architecture and evolving organisational priorities. Using longitudinal evidence from two UK based make- to-order (MTO) SMEs engaged in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPS), we identify two distinct but convergent trigger pathways: configuration bias, where dominant managerial logic becomes encoded within system architecture, and legacy entrenchment, where path dependency and familiarity bias stabilise outdated infrastructures. In both cases, compensatory behaviours shadow systems, manual overrides, and cross functional tension accumulate until governance thresholds are breached. We demonstrate how DMAIC functions not as an optimisation tool but as an adaptive governance scaffold that surfaces embedded bias and restores joint optimisation. ERP reimplementation is thus reframed as institutional realignment rather than technological failure, extending STS temporally and materialising dominant logic within digital infrastructure.