Suggestions for the Next Wave of BPM Research: Strengthening the Theoretical Core and Exploring the Protective Belt

In this essay, I present a reflective and generative analysis of Business Process Management research, in which I analyze process management and the surrounding research program from the viewpoint of a theoretical paradigm embracing analytical, empirical, explanatory and design elements. I argue that this view not only reconciles different perceptions of BPM and different research streams, but that it also informs ways in which the BPM research program could develop into a much richer, more inclusive and overall more significant body of work than it has to date. I define three perspectives on a BPM research agenda, give several examples of exciting existing research, and offer key opportunities for further research that can (a) strengthen the core of BPM, (b) generate novel theory from BPM in relevant and topical big issue domains, and (c) explore more rigorously and comprehensively the protective belt of BPM assumptions that much of the present research abides by. The essay ends with some recommendations for continuing the debate about what constitutes BPM and some suggestions for how future research in this area might be carried out

The Effect of Organization Size and Sector on Adopting Business Process Management

The business process management (BPM) discipline is starting to recognize the importance of context-awareness. In spite of this recognition, few studies investigate the effect of diverse contextual factors on BPM. To fill this gap, the study statistically analyzes the effect of organization size and sector, as specific contextual factors, on the adoption of BPM. The latter is measured by means of BPM capabilities for which data was collected from 2309 employees in 72 organizations. The study relies on the Contingency Theory by hypothesizing that, in practice, organizations adopt BPM by taking into account factors that fit an organization’s context. Surprisingly, the results do not show a dependency between BPM adoption and organization size, suggesting that BPM adoption levels can equally be achieved by large or small organizations. In contrast, a dependency is found for organization sector (partly based on market velocity), suggesting different BPM adoption practices and/or speed in different sectors

How Do We Progress? An Exploration of Alternate Explanations for BPM Capability Development

Business process management (BPM) is a topic that has received immense attention in information systems research and practice. While the existing literature comprehensively covers BPM methods, techniques, and tools, the development of BPM capability in organizations remains under-researched. Existing studies mainly present maturity models with generic sequences of distinct stages that provide a rather simplistic perspective on BPM capability progress. Taking a process theory view and drawing from organizational change literature, we elaborate on alternate templates for explaining BPM capability development. By revisiting two case studies on BPM capability development, we analyze the explanatory power of four basic theories of capability development and thus advance existing approaches to explain BPM capability progress. Our analysis shows the general applicability of these theories and points to particular advantages, disadvantages, and application conditions. Using the four basic theories as alternate templates, we also offer a much more-detailed explanation of the mechanisms behind the episodes of BPM capability progress that we observed in the two case studies. In particular, the different theoretical templates allow one to better understand the influence of internal and external contexts on BPM capability progress

The Link Between the Business Process Management Capabilities and the Benefits Created by Robotic Process Automation in an Organisation

In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as organisations are increasingly confronted with unclear and complex business environments, digital technologies are being used to acquire and maintain dynamism, innovation, responsiveness to changing societal needs, and agility, which are essential in this time of changes. In the current competitive environment, organising the performance of an organisation solely on the basis of functions and assignments is no longer appropriate. There is a growing interest in the concept of the process-oriented organisation (Szelagowski, & Berniak-Woźny 2020) and a growing focus on the digitalisation of operations and business processes (Kirchmer 2017; Siderska 2020). This article aims to define the link between the essential aspects of the Business Process Management capabilities and the benefit generated by Robotic Process Automation based on theoretical insights

Business processes in the agile organisation: a socio-technical perspective

© 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. This paper takes a cross-disciplinary view of the ontology of “business process”: how the concept is treated in the IS research literature and how related concepts (with stronger human behavioural orientation) from organisation and management sciences can potentially inform this IS perspective. In particular, is there room for socio-technical concepts such as technology affordance, derived from the constructivist tradition, in improving our understanding of operational business processes, particularly human-centric business processes? The paper presents a theoretical framework for understanding the role of business processes in organisational agility that distinguishes between the process-as-designed and the process-as-practiced. How this practice aspect of business processes also leads to the improvisation of various information technology enablers, is explored using a socio-technical lens. The posited theoretical framework is illustrated and validated with data drawn from an interpretive empirical case study of a large IT services company. The research suggests that processes within the organisation evolve both by top-down design and by the bottom-up routinisation of practice and that the tension between these is driven by the need for flexibility

THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT IN THE FUTURE OF WORK

Business process management (BPM) is a corporate capability that strives for efficient and effective work. As a matter of fact, work is rapidly changing due to technological, economic, and demographic developments. New digital affordances, work attitudes, and collaboration models are revolutionizing how work is performed. These changes are referred to as the future of work. Despite the obvious con-nection between the future of work and BPM, neither current initiatives on the future of BPM nor exist-ing BPM capability frameworks account for the characteristics of the future of work. Hence, there is a need for evolving BPM as a corporate capability in light of the future of work. As a first step to triggering a community-wide discussion, we compiled propositions that capture constitutive characteristics of the future of work. We then let a panel of BPM experts map these propositions to the six factors of Rosemann and vom Brocke’s BPM capability framework, which captures how BPM is conceptualized today. On this foundation, we discussed how BPM should evolve in light of the future of work and distilled over-arching topics which we think will reshape BPM as a corporate capability

BRANDING OF OTC AND SKINCARE PRODUCTS: A BEHAVIOURAL PSYCHOLOGY APPROACH

Abstract One of the main reasons for the failure of branding activities, is that marketers and brand managers consider branding as an input activity or as "something done to the consumer." It is argued in this thesis that consumers actively participate in this practice by evaluating branding efforts and in many cases they do not associate branding endeavours with product category. This thesis is attempting to explore consumer behaviour toward branding and discover variables that could be used to explain the role and contribution of consumers in branding activities. Two main reasons have been introduced in this thesis to explain the characteristics of consumer contribution in branding endeavours. First, the consumer side of brands and second, the situational variables in a purchase and consumption environment. The consumer side of the brand consists of three main factors: firstly, what customers expect from the brand per se, independent from the product; secondly, the extent to which the brand is considered by customers and finally, their consideration of the relationship between product and brand. The Behavioural Perspective Model (BPM), introduced by Foxall (1997), is applied in this research to explore both situational variables and the consumer's side of the brand. This behaviouristic approach to consumer research considers setting and learning history as twodeterminants of consumer behaviour. Involvement has been used for quantifying learning history and it is argued that to a very high extent involvement could be considered as the same as learning history in BPM. Three different methodologies have been used in this research to investigate the aforementioned variables using a case study of skincare and OTC products in Iran. Interviews, focus groups and questionnaires have been applied to explore the aforementioned variables and any potential relationships among them. The results show that brand image is the main situational variable in these two groups of products. For OTC products the dominant expected brand image is functional; in skincare products, although some level of symbolic brand image is expected, the brand image is mainly functional. The variables introduced in this thesis could be used as a framework for brand managers when deciding how to prioritise their efforts. More importantly, they could use this information for choosing the right brand image based on the type of consumer involvement

Properties that influence business process management maturity and its effect on organizational performance

Abstract BPM maturity is a measure to evaluate how professionally an organization manages its business processes. Previous research provides evidence that higher BPM maturity leads to better performance of processes and of the organization as a whole. It also claims that different organizations should strive for different levels of maturity, depending on their properties. This paper presents an empirical investigation of these claims, based on a sample of 120 organizations and looking at a selection of organizational properties. Our results reveal that higher BPM maturity contributes to better performance, but only up to a point. Interestingly, it contradicts the popular belief that higher innovativeness is associated with lower BPM maturity, rather showing that higher innovativeness is associated with higher BPM maturity. In addition, the paper shows that companies in different regions have a different level of BPM maturity. These findings can be used as a benchmark and a motivation for organizations to increase their BPM maturity

Lean on me: An impact study of mutuality supportive leadership behaviour on employee Lean engagement

Total Quality Management (TQM) has been around in the West since the early 1970s. Over the last 40 years it has advanced from its early form, based around ‘quality circles’, to more advanced forms such as Lean and the now common Business Excellence (BE) models. However, up to 60% of implementations fail to deliver initially anticipated results. Research into Lean/TQM suggests that management commitment and conducive culture are key factors inhibiting subordinate engagement. Yet it is recognised that the ‘softer’ side of TQM is vital for its success and a key dimension of Lean/TQM philosophy. This thesis is a longitudinal study of an organisation in the throes of implementing Lean and struggling to engage its employees. Taking a mutuality perspective, the Behavioural Perspective Model (BPM) provides a framework for understanding the manager-subordinate context and Lean engagement. The BPM, complemented by the incorporation of Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (SDT), aids understanding of respondents’ learning history in a complex Lean/TQM environment. An objective of this research was to use the insight gained from taking a behavioural/SDT perspective to improve the ‘softer’, respectful side of TQM deployment as in managerial relational practice, thus enabling improvement in leader-subordinate, day-to-day relations and increased Lean approach behaviour. The thesis is built around three interrelated projects. Project One investigates the deployment context, identifying engagement barriers and opportunities. Project Two, a longitudinal intervention based on mutuality supportive leader-subordinate behaviour, identifies positive affect across three surveys. Project Three, a survey-based study of the whole organisation (n=328), considers both ‘active’ and ‘not-active’ employees, finding significant differences in all key variables between the two groups, identifying ‘work climate’ and motivation as key influences on Lean engagement. This research provides tentative evidence that managerial commitment to a supportive work climate influences subordinate engagement and quality of engagement in Lean/TQM