Process Improvement: assessing the influence of external intervention

Abstract

This paper presents the findings from a large-scale empirical investigation into the impact of external intervention into business process improvement using a hybrid model of knowledge transfer (KT). Through the utilization of a survey instrument with 696 respondents, the research explores the insights into a phased approached to sustainable external intervention. Analysis of the empirical data indicated that organisations are receptive to external intervention, which can lead to improved levels of knowledge transfer, organisational culture, and business innovation. Furthermore, high impact intervention can contribute to long-term sustainability. The results also indicate that intervention has been more successful through intermitting intervention in terms of specific initiatives such as business process improvement, technology transfer, change management and new product development. The paper contributes to the impact of intervention from the perspective of facilitating the knowing-doing gap, bridging the gap within this research theme