Search results

The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of project critical success factors (CSFs) on change management in the context of business process management (BPM). Despite widespread interest in BPM, the existing literature is insufficient in addressing the antecedents that contribute to change management in business process projects.

Key factors of change management success in BPM projects were initially identified in a systematic literature review (SLR) and were used as antecedents of change management through a structural equation modeling (SEM) with 464 business project stakeholders. Next, a neural network analysis allowed the key factors to be ranked non-linearly. Finally, a latent class analysis (LCA) was performed to determine the sample's heterogeneous groups based on their project management characteristics.

Project management, top management support and technological competencies were the main CSFs identified as having positive effects on change management. The most important factor is project management, followed by top management support, which plays a crucial mediating role in enabling change management. Although relevant, technological competencies were secondary in the study. Regarding project management CSF, four heterogeneous classes of individuals were determined.

Although this study provides an opportunity to observe CSFs, it does not address the need to analyze the phenomenon in different classifications of projects, regarding maturity, complexity, project management approach and other aspects that differentiate projects in a meaningful way.

The study allows practitioners to understand the critical factors underlying change management and take necessary actions to manage it, recognizing that individuals have heterogeneous profiles regarding project management.

This study pioneeringly discusses the CSFs of change management BPM projects to enable successful change management, ranking the main factors and mapping heterogeneous profiles.

There is very little literature about improving and managing knowledge-intensive business processes (KIBPs). Since innovation plays an important role in knowledge work, these processes are different from traditional business processes, for which most business process management (BPM) methods have been developed, and therefore KIBPs should be improved differently. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of BPM in the case of KIBPs by describing some methods that can be applied to manage and improve KIBPs.

The paper presents a case study of a BPM project in the public sector, where most processes are knowledge-intensive. In conducting the longitudinal case study, established guidelines for interpretive case study research were followed. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected.

The paper presents some findings about the methods that can be applied for BPM in the case of KIBPs. It shows that the main phases of a BPM project can be the same as in a typical project; however, within each project phase different methods have to be applied. Appropriate methods for modelling the existing processes were workshops and interviews. Qualitative methods were suitable for the analysis phase, while it was not necessary to develop detailed to-be models in the business process redesign phase.

The paper contributes to the body of knowledge on BPM in the case of KIBPs. Previous findings from the literature claiming that participative, incremental and continuous methods are suitable for improving KIBPs were confirmed. The case study also showed that proper project management, communication, the active role of top management and the involvement of external consultants during BPM projects are very important.

Despite an obvious connection, business process improvement and business process management (BPM) capability development have been studied intensely, but in isolation. The authors thus aim to make the case for the research located at the intersection of both streams. The authors thereby focus on the integrated planning of business process improvement and BPM capability development as this is where, in the authors’ opinion, both streams have the closest interaction. The authors refer to the research field located at the intersection of business process improvement and BPM capability development as process project portfolio management. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The authors structure the field of process project portfolio management drawing from extant knowledge related to BPM, project portfolio management, and performance management. The authors also propose a research agenda in terms of exemplary research questions and research methods.

The proposed structure shows which business objects and interactions should be considered when engaging in process project portfolio management. The research agenda contains exemplary questions structured along the intersections of BPM, project portfolio management, and performance management.

This paper’s main limitation is that it reflects the authors’ individual viewpoints based on experiences of several industry projects and prior research.

This paper addresses a neglected research field, opens up new avenues for interdisciplinary BPM research, and contributes a novel perspective to the ongoing discussion about the future of BPM.

The purpose of this paper is to integrate research on entrepreneurship and projects by applying process perspectives on these two fields with the ambition to shed light on how this kind of alternative perspectives can be used to further the fields in research and practice.

This conceptual paper is based on previous research efforts in the two fields and on how they have been treated in the past. Business process research is introduced to enrich notions on how the two areas can be combined.

By rearranging thinking about projects, entrepreneurship and processes, and through introducing the notion of “chunks”, the authors illustrate how different types of business processes in different types of project contexts can be coordinated through orchestration and/or choreography.

The research made for this conceptual paper has been thorough. However, the literature is huge, so the reservation must be made that the authors might have missed some important trends. Anyway, there are implications for how research and analyses of data can be used with the thinking described.

Combining various lines of research is not common as illustrated by the lack of studies combining entrepreneurship and projects; therefore, by adding process notions and “chunk” reasoning, this paper opens up for innovation and renewal in research. To the authors’ knowledge this approach is new.

This work explores the potential benefits of aligning the strategic planning process with a BPM program in a clinical research center (CRC). The purpose of this paper is to define a process for executing strategic planning oriented towards the promotion of a BPM program.

The method applied is action research. This allowed the solution of a practical problem and at the same time the proposition of a new approach to promote BPM in alignment with strategy, which was synthesized in the model presented.

The analysis and structuring of the strategic planning process, with the assessment of the as-is situation, were adequate as a preparation step for the first cycle of a BPM program in the CRC. Based on lessons learned along the research project, a model was proposed for the strategic planning process oriented towards promoting BPM.

The model was conceived from a single application at a CRC, through a cycle of action research. This is one of the limitations of this work. The model was not yet sufficiently tested in other contexts. This represents opportunities for future research.

The evaluation step in the action research cycle revealed that the organization in focus was satisfied with the results. New management practices in the organizations in focus were implemented as a result of this work.

Process improvement initiatives are a novelty in the CRC context, and this work may serve as a reference for CRC managers seeking to improve overall performance. The proposed model in this work indicates that a BPM program should start with strategic planning. An initial assessment of the as-is situation of the organization in focus was performed based on the analysis of the undesirable effects in the organization’s management practices, using a technique of the Theory of Constraints. The use of this technique facilitated the identification of solutions to the root causes identified in the assessment. The level of the assessment was deeper in comparison to results obtained with traditional tools used in strategic planning processes. The assessment supports the definition of actions oriented to solving the majority of the management dysfunctions of the organization in focus.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implementation of an ambidexterity strategy in a large Italian Company that works in the energy field. The aim of the study is to understand how contextual ambidexterity has been achieved during a business process management (BPM) approach by describing the main variables that interacted during the project implementation.

The authors based their study both on primary (direct observation and interviews) and secondary (company manuals, books and procedures) qualitative investigations of BPM approach based on three business process re-engineering (BPR) projects and nine total quality management (TQM) projects, focused on change team behaviors, dynamics and dialogues.

The authors observed that the implementation of simultaneously radical and incremental change projects has been influenced by the exploration and exploitation activities related to every single TQM and BPR project considered. The findings suggest that the overall project has been influenced by four main underlying variables, which are task specialization and systems interoperability (knowledge transfer), identity and leadership (knowledge conversion) and two output variables (ambiguity and feedback to change), that, by interacting, enable ambidexterity.

BPM is an important option to consider within the ambidexterity theory, being conceptually conceived as an approach in which TQM and BPR actually complement each other. Moreover, the results contextualize the importance of the change management team (CMT) to manage the connections between knowledge creation and refinement, and vice versa, depending particularly on the knowledge conversion process enabled by a flexible team culture. The focus of the study is mainly at the BPR and TQM project level. The authors consider structural ambidexterity and its enabling mechanisms as the framework in which BPM is implemented. Moreover, research limitations are related both to the specificity of the context, a large, highly specialized and mechanistic company and to the qualitative approach that may reduce the generalization of the empirical results.

Managers need to be cognizant and aware both of the BPM techniques, in order to sustain ambidexterity, and of ambiguity and change feedback as variables that enable the effective connection of the different steps of innovation or refinement strategy and, therefore, of ambidexterity. Moreover, the contextual factors such as leadership and people identity should be considered and managed as important variables related to change.

The originality of this paper is related to improving the understanding of how to implement the theoretical concept of ambidexterity in a real world organization, by providing new evidence that highlights the importance of contextual ambidexterity within a structural ambidexterity strategy during a BPM project.

Start-ups can change the direction of a country's economy when they manage to remain in the market, as they are companies that generate innovation, income and employment. However, these are companies that need both favorable external conditions that guarantee their survival, and internal capacities for the development of a management that is able to consider the needs for change in the product or service and consolidate the business as a whole. Therefore, start-ups need to develop dynamic capabilities (DCs), which are achieved through the processes that direct, coordinate and formulate the strategies of the other processes. Therefore, adopting a management approach that enables the development of DCs is essential for the survival of start-ups. The business process management (BPM) approach becomes an appropriate option, since it identifies business processes to adapt organizational management to new market demands. It can be used to interpret the environment, to understand the organization internally and to transform; it is flexible to the needs and characteristics of each organization. Based on this, the objective of the study is to develop a BPM framework that operationalizes the development of DCs in start-ups.

The method used consisted of two case studies and analysis of documents and seven interviews. Two start-ups that underwent BPM promotion in 2018 and 2020 were selected. The start-ups are Brazilian and from the biotechnology sector. Interviews were conducted with the team that promoted BPM at start-ups and with members of the start-ups that participated in the promotion. The interviews followed a semi-structured script elaborated according to the authors of the literature review. Discourse analysis was used to identify excerpts from the statements that expressed the content of the questions. All interviews were recorded with the prior consent of the participants and later validated with them.

The BPM promotion framework for start-ups is divided into four steps: “frame BPM,” “understand BPM,” “enable BPM” and “continue BPM”. Nine principles constitute the promotion of BPM: (1) context consideration principle, (2) holistic, (3) simplicity, (4) involvement, (5) empowerment, (6) shared understanding, (7) purpose, (8) technological appropriation and (9) continuity. Promoting BPM in start-ups has developed dynamic entrepreneurial and networking capabilities.

As for the contribution to society, scientific studies make it possible to structure tacit knowledge and give direction to human action based on assertive methods; thus, the scientific contribution on DCs and start-ups brings assertiveness to start-up managers and the entire chain they impact with their actions, which makes their performance more beneficial to society.

As for the contribution to the state-of-the-art, visualizing the principles in a practical way, through the application of the BPM promotion project in start-ups, made it possible to understand the BPM cycle in a less rigid and more fluid way. This format proved to be suitable for the start-ups in the case study, as it ensured that they learned both about how the approach works and about the advantages of using it in the management of start-ups, thus contributing to the development of these important organizations for the economy of different countries.

The purpose of this paper is to explore if there is a common ground for the definition of business process management (BPM) and BPM‐systems, as well as the critical success factors (CSFs) for BPM‐system implementation. A BPM‐system implementation framework is validated that classifies the CSFs in distinctive domains that can be used for BPM project management and organization.

A meta‐analysis of literature was performed to develop a set of statements with regard to the definition, benefits and CSFs of BPM(‐system) implementation. Then a survey was conducted among 39 Dutch consultants, developers and end‐users of BPM‐systems that vary in BPM experience. Through a web‐questionnaire, the shared view of the respondents was measured with respect to the definition, benefits and the BPM‐system implementation framework.

It appears that different respondent groups share a common view on the definition and benefits of BPM and BPM‐systems, regardless their role in the value chain of BPM deployment within organizations. In addition, there is consensus on the CSFs of BPM‐system implementation. In particular, it is supported that communication, involvement of stakeholders and governance is critical. Hence, organizations should realize that BPM‐system implementation is not mainly an IT‐project, but should preferably be initiated by top management.

This paper is limited to representatives from Dutch organizations. Future research can be done in other countries to explore if BPM‐systems and its CSFs differ across regions and cultures. Furthermore, the BPM‐system implementation framework can be specifically validated by (comparative) case study or project research.

While BPM is commonly accepted as a concept, the CSFs for BPM‐system implementation is hardly validated. This paper shows, by empirical validation, if these CSFs from literature are supported by different groups of professionals. Furthermore, the CSFs for implementing BPM are modeled and classified in a framework build up from five areas. Analysis of the internal coherence of different survey items sets, supports that the authors can define the goals and CSFs when implementing BPM‐systems.

The aim of this study is to debunk the relationship between user participation practices and the development and success of information systems/information technology implementations. While most studies practically rely on how many participation activities are performed, the process through which users engage in user participation is not specified.

A mixed method approach was applied to study the research questions. A number of relationships were tested by survey data collected among 143 end-users and 49 interviews of employees of a large Dutch social insurance organization that implemented a new and integrative business process management (BPM) system.

The results show that specification of the participation context is of key importance for understanding the success of BPM implementation. Quantitative and qualitative analyses show that rich participation activities hold a stronger positive relationship with the BPM system development and implementation success than other participatory activities that only assist development or implementation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the updated theory of user participation by Markus and Mao can be turned into a useful instrument for measuring the different aspects of participation.

Most studies on user participation “only” measure how many participation activities were performed, and not how or why they were performed. Furthermore, the combination of qualitative and quantitative data and instruments resulted in a greater understanding of how exactly user participation was brought into practice and how the consequences of this practice were interrelated.

The purpose of this paper is to present business process point analysis (BPPA), a technique to measure business functional process size, based on function point analysis (FPA), and using business process model and notation (BPMN). This paper also discusses the assessment results of BPPA compared with FPA.

Two experimental studies with participants from academia and industry were conducted. The following aspects in the experimental studies were focused: similarity, application easiness, feasibility, and application benefits. The purpose of the experiment was to assess BPPA comparing with FPA as the BPPA design followed the FPA pattern.

Experimental results showed that both academia and industry groups highly rated similarity and application benefits for BPPA compared with FPA. However, only participants from industry highly rated BPPA for application easiness and feasibility. The results also showed that participants’ previous experiences did not influence their ratings on BPPA.

BPPA helps project managers to measure functional process size of business process management projects. As BPPA is derived from FPA, its mechanism is easily recognizable by project managers who are used to FPA. These results also show that both techniques are in most cases considered rather similar.