Steps to Improved Firm Performance with Business Process Management: Adding Business Value with Business Process Management and its Systems

235 Pages·2015·4.81 MB·English

by  Tahvo Hyötyläinen (auth.)

Advances in Information Systems
and Business Engineering
Edited by
U. Baumöl, Hagen, Germany
J. vom Brocke, Vaduz, Principality of Liechtenstein
R. Jung, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Th e series presents current research fi ndings based on diverse research methods at
the interface between information systems research, computer science, and man-
agement science. Th e publications in this series aim at practical concepts, models,
methods, but also theories which address the role of information systems in the
innovative design and sustainable development of organizations. Contributions are
selected which on the one hand propose innovative approaches how modern infor-
mation and communication technologies can enable new business models. On the
other hand, contributions are eligible which present considerable improvements to
existing solutions. Th e publications are characterized by a holistic approach. Th ey
account for the socio-technical nature of work-systems and suggest that the devel-
opment and implementation of information systems need to consider the multi-
faceted organizational context driven by people, tasks, and technology.
Edited by
Prof. Dr. Ulrike Baumöl Prof. Dr. Reinhard Jung,
FernUniversität Hagen, Germany Universität St. Gallen, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Jan vom Brocke
Universität Liechtenstein, Vaduz,
Fürstentum Liechtenstein
Tahvo Hyötyläinen
Steps to Improved
Firm Performance
with Business Process
Management
Adding Business Value with Business
Process Management and its Systems
With a foreword by Prof. Dr. Jan vom Brocke
Tahvo Hyötyläinen
Tampere, Finland
Dissertation Tampere University, Finland, 2013
ISBN 978-3-658-07469-2 ISBN 978-3-658-07470-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-07470-8
Th e Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografi e;
detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.
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Foreword
Trends come and go, but core disciplines like Business Process Management
remain. With its roots in management approaches like TQM and BPR, as well as
developments in information systems, such as ERP systems and workflow man-
agement systems, BPM has matured into a core discipline that deals with the
diverse competencies required to manage operations. With its focus on organiza-
tions’ work systems, BPM has proven itself a powerful integrating discipline that
bridges the gap between business and IT, among others.
In an era when IT is ubiquitous in our professional and private lives, the role of
BPM as integrating discipline is more important than ever because of its role in
driving and enabling innovation in a digital world. The internet of things stimu-
lates our innovations in business, in-memory technology accelerates transactions
by a factor of 100,000, data is collected as processes run, and mining big data
clarifies and predicts customers’ behavior. As fascinating as these developments
are, they are sometimes difficult to use in creating business value. This is where
a core knowledge of BPM can help, as understanding the nature of business
facilitates the ability to envision socio-technical systems in which people use
technology as the most effective and efficient way to achieve business and socie-
tal objectives.
Against this background Tahvo Hyötyläinen’s work makes an important con-
tribution to the core of BPM research. The work is based on a profound analysis
of the academic literature, with additional insights gained through empirical in-
vestigations, including case study and action research. Tahvo’s work emphasizes
BPM’s potential to increase firm performance and, in line with contemporary
contributions to BPM, the importance of socio-technical thinking in BPM. Or-
ganizations must build dynamic capabilities in order to implement BPM in their
DNA. BPM researchers have teamed up with practitioners to identify ten princi-
ples of good BPM, and Tahvo’s forward-looking study provides support for
several of these principles. His rigorous research and his considerable practical
experience inspire and enrich his work.
VI Foreword
Tahvo’s work calls for more substantive research on BPM to extend the body
of knowledge, which is needed in practice to master contemporary and future
challenges. I, too, invite other young researchers to engage in this exciting and
important topic of BPM. Your contributions are needed today and in the future as
businesses continue to evolve and innovate.

Jan vom Brocke
Preface
Business Process Management (BPM) has become a widely adopted manage-
ment approach, prompting significant investments by private and public compa-
nies since 2000. BPM has its roots in various process improvement methods such
as Business Process Re-engineering, Lean, Total Quality Management, and Six
Sigma. In addition, the technological developments of Enterprise Resource Plan-
ning, Customer Relationship Management, and Workflow Management Systems
have evolved into what can now be called Business Process Management Sys-
tems (BPMS), which are enablers of modern BPM.
Business analysts and researchers have published positive forecasts about the
prospects of BPMS adoption. In addition, BPM researchers have claimed that
there is a linear and one-directional path to more mature BPM, which in turn
leads to improved firm performance outcomes. However, neither the concept of
BPM nor the factors leading to successful BPM initiatives are grounded in the-
ory, and they also lack empirical support. Consequently, fundamental problems
have remained unsolved in current BPM approaches; in particular, what business
value BPMS can bring has remained largely unexplored. Therefore, this research
answers the question of “What constitutes a path to improved firm performance
with BPM and BPM Systems?”
This study uses the Systematic Literature Review method as an exploratory
tool for empirical support about BPM initiatives that include BPM Systems, as
well as about the adoption of BPM Maturity (BPMM) models to achieve im-
proved firm performance. The literature review covers the major sources in the
BPM community, including the BPM Journal and central scientific jour-
nal/conference databases. Additional backward searches based on the relevance
to the subject deepen the analysis. The theoretical basis of this research is socio-
technical systems theory. The empirical part of this study includes a case study
and an action research. Accordingly, this study emphasizes a goal-driven phi-
losophy and is grounded in the mainstream world-view of science.
On the one hand, my literature reviews reveal both a very low number of sci-
entific empirical studies about the benefits of BPM initiatives using BPMS, and
contradictions to the unidirectional, sequential, and deterministic progress im-
VIII Preface
plied by BPM maturity models. On the other hand, my case study and action
research provide empirical evidence how to improve firm performance with
BPM and its Systems. Based on these results, I suggest an alternative path to
improved firm performance derived from the principles of socio-technical sys-
tems theory and driven by the empirically supported approach of customer-
centricity. As the main result of this study, I have constructed a model for
achieving organizational process change aided by BPM and its Systems. The
success factors for this change are explained within a socio-technical system
context. The empirical results of my research provide novel insights into tech-
nology-enabled change, information technology flexibility, and customer-centric
business processes.

Tahvo Hyötyläinen
Table of Contents
Foreword ............................................................................................................................................V
Preface ............................................................................................................................................ VII
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. IX
List of Acronyms........................................................................................................................... XIII
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. XV
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................X VII
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background and Motivation of the Research ...................................................................... 2
1.2 Research Approach ............................................................................................................ 9
1.3 Results .............................................................................................................................. 13
1.4 Structure of the Book ....................................................................................................... 16
2 Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Support Regarding BPMS and
BPMM Models .......................................................................................................................... 17
2.1 Design of SLR for BPMS ................................................................................................. 17
2.2 Data Gathering ................................................................................................................. 19
2.3 Review of the Findings for BPMS Empirical Evidence ................................................... 21
2.4 Systematic Literature Review for BPM Maturity Models ................................................ 26
2.5 Introduction to Business Process Management Maturity Models ..................................... 27
2.5.1 Capability Maturity Model ................................................................................. 28
2.5.2 The Business Process Maturity Model by OMG ................................................ 29
2.5.3 The Business Process Management Maturity Model by Gartner ........................ 30
2.5.4 Process and Enterprise Maturity Model .............................................................. 32
2.5.5 The Business Process Management Maturity Model by McCormack and
Lockamy ............................................................................................................ 33
2.5.6 Synthesis of the Steps of BPMM Models and Hypotheses ................................. 35
2.6 Design of Systematic Literature Review for Steps in BPMM Models .............................. 36
2.7 Data Gathering ................................................................................................................. 38
2.7.1 Findings that Support the Progress along BPMM ............................................... 38
2.7.2 Findings that Support One or Multiple Steps ..................................................... 39
2.7.3 Findings that Conflict or Deviate from BPMM .................................................. 41
2.7.4 Summary of the Findings for BPMM Empirical Evidence ................................. 42
3 Theoretical Approach ............................................................................................................... 45
3.1 Historical Paths to BPM ................................................................................................... 48
3.1.1 The Nature of a Theory According to Three World-Views ................................ 48
3.1.2 From Taylorism to Business Process Re-Engineering ........................................ 50
3.1.3 Alternative Approaches towards BPM ............................................................... 52
3.1.4 History of Leadership Styles .............................................................................. 57
3.1.5 Summary of Historical Paths .............................................................................. 60