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This research proposes how Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) provides a complementary approach for business process management (BPM) lifecycle implementation in order to address gaps identified in the current literature.

The mandatory elements of a method (MEM) framework is used to illustrate DFSS's maturity as a process redesign method. The use of DFSS in a BPM context is described through several action research case examples.

This research specifies the procedure model (order of development activities), techniques, results, roles and information/meta model (conceptual data model of results) associated with using DFSS to address BPM-related challenges. The action research case examples provided discuss the details of implementing BPM using DFSS to design, implement and test redesigned processes to ensure they fulfill the needs of process participants.

While the case examples discussed were performed in only a few settings, which limits the generalizability of their results, they provide evidence regarding the wide range of domains in which the proposed DFSS-BPM approach can be applied and how the tools are used in different contexts.

This research offers a road map for addressing the challenges practitioners often face with BPM lifecycle implementation.

This research provides the first attempt to integrate DFSS as a complementary method for BPM lifecycle implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a model based on participant perceptions and the resulting influences on the outcome of a technology implementation in construction projects. This paper outlines the conception and development of the model.

A qualitative methodology combines implementation theory with the empirical data to conceive the model. Data are collected by an immersed researcher employing a participant‐observation technique.

This perception‐influence (P‐I) model suggests that negative perceptions of value, benefit and usability cause innovation implementations to be ineffective with an end result of discontinued use or neglect. The model maps an innovation implementation through using participant perceptions as the primary model constructs. In the model, each perception is formed by a number of contributing factors and has only a positive or negative associated action.

The P‐I model is a planning and evaluation tool that is useful for technology managers at any stage of an innovation implementation.

The paper puts forward a new perspective for implementation research in construction.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the benefits of the application of a requirements engineering framework to assist Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) development. This framework combines the technology-driven and the process-driven approaches for requirements analysis and implementation. Specific business process modeling methods enhance the framework and assist the formulation of the functional specifications of the ERP system and the management of requirements.

A case study strategy was chosen as the most appropriate method to answer the research question and test the theoretical propositions. The case study’s unit of analysis is a Greek manufacturing company and its ERP implementation project. A requirements engineering framework enhanced with business process modeling methods was applied and the results were evaluated using metrics for ERP implementation success. Data were collected using multiple sources of evidences, including interviews with various stakeholders, structured questionnaires, direct observations, vendors’ functionality papers and company’s documentation.

This study proves that the configuration of ERP’s reference models together with the adjustments of organization’s processes, provided through a structured requirements engineering framework can lead to reliable functional specifications, a smooth transition to an ERP system and, eventually, to successful ERP implementation, concerning its alignment with requirements.

A single case study is conducted in a typical manufacturing company, providing opportunities for further research in other industries, testing in parallel well-defined requirements and other success factors for ERP implementation.

The paper fulfils the identified needs for applied methodologies and frameworks for requirements engineering which can assist successful ERP implementations.

Manufacturing industry’s success in reducing time‐to‐market, costs, environmental impact; and improving quality, and flexibility, has exposed an underlying factor limiting further significant improvement in competitive performance ‐ the effective management of production data. This article identifies the business benefits of product data management and examines the building blocks for a product data management strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) and key areas for improvement for public–private partnerships (PPP) in affordable housing schemes (AHS) projects, using Tanzania as a case study.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 public and private sector practitioners in Tanzania. The collected data and the interview transcripts were analysed using the standard qualitative analysis technique of content analysis.

The findings show the six most important CSFs as: a dedicated team of professionals to oversee the PPP projects, official and unofficial site visits and inspection, government support and guarantees, undertaking checks and balance from the design stage to construction stage, scrutiny of PPP project proposal and trust and integrity. The mapping of the CSFs across the PPP project lifecycle highlighted a higher incidence across the following phases: building (n = 11), preparation (n = 10) and operational (n = 9).

The identification of these CSFs would support PPP practitioners in successfully implementing PPP in AHS; besides, there is potential for their inclusion in the future development of the affordable housing PPP conceptual framework. Therefore, based on the identified CSFs, both the government and policy makers could use the findings as the basis for re-examining the existing PPP policy and regulations and reflecting on the existing situation with a view to improving the delivery of future PPP projects.

This paper provides the first empirical study by applying direct content analysis to identify and understand the CSFs and key areas for improvement for PPPs in AHS within the Tanzanian housing sector. This is rather an under researched subject around CSFs for PPPs from developing countries such as Tanzania.

Organisations are investing in systems such as product lifecycle management (PLM) to support product development, collaboration across complex supply chains and to provide a framework for digital transformation. Graduates of apparel programmes would benefit from a knowledge of PLM to help realise the opportunities that PLM offers. The purpose of this paper is to report on an educational research project that used PLM as a context for practice-based learning and as a mechanism to update the learning experience and stimulate the development of future practice.

This paper reports on the experiences, critical reflections and data from an action research study to establish a learning community through an educational partnership for PLM software within an undergraduate fashion business course. The cohort of the first year of the intervention (n = 28) is the main study population.

The findings indicate that PLM provided a stimulating learning context supportive of a detailed understanding of current industry practice, critical and innovative thinking and the development of a professional identity.

The opportunity for the development of both industry and educational practice is outlined.

A general introduction to PLM provides important information to support and advance Fashion Industry 4.0. Educational partnerships can reduce barriers to the integration of advanced technologies into the higher education curriculum.

Applications of PLM are under researched in textiles and apparel. The paper contributes to the broadening of the knowledge base of PLM and its potential to achieve strategic transformation of the sector.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation commonly fails to recognize the need to treat it as a business process automation that must be managed and monitored continuously. Moreover, many studies on business process management (BPM) assessment focus on snapshots of different areas of BPM and not on the different stages of the lifecycle. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model that combines the BPM lifecycle, program/project implementation framework, principles of good practice, maturity and critical practices to assess how companies implementing ERP apply different BPM practices, as well as which areas are lacking and why.

The relevant literature was examined to develop the model for the study. Case studies of three companies in Indonesia were then conducted. The state of BPM implementation in each case was assessed through interviews, document reviews and observations.

This study found that three leading companies in Indonesia, implementing ERP for more than five years, obtained high scores for BPM implementation. They perform well in terms of process identification, implementation, monitoring and control, but are weak in process discovery and re-design, mainly because they do not optimally use specific tools for process modeling and there is a lack of process governance. The studies also pinpoint potential linkages between competition intensity and the nature of the industry with the need for good BPM.

The model has only been tested in three cases in different industries and therefore the results, while providing good insights, cannot be generalized. More detailed assessment of certain BPM practices is needed. Furthermore, the assessment for each stage of BPM implementation was made at a single time, potentially yielding less detailed results than by assessing each stage of the BPM lifecycle.

The companies implementing ERP began with business process definition, but employ different process governance. The model developed here can be useful for leaders and teams to identify weak areas of practice within the stage of the BPM lifecycle; it can be used as an assessment tool for companies currently conducting BPM projects or programs including ERP implementation. It can also provide a roadmap for companies intending to conduct BPM programs.

Most of the BPM literature focuses on specific aspects. This study proposes a different perspective by providing a model to assess BPM implementation in each stage of its lifecycle and at the same time considers practical aspects of implementation, principles of good practice, maturity factors and critical practices.

This study explores the critical success factors (CSFs) for Security Education, Training and Awareness (SETA) program effectiveness. The questionable effectiveness of SETA programs at changing employee behavior and an absence of empirical studies on the CSFs for SETA program effectiveness is the key motivation for this study.

This exploratory study follows a systematic inductive approach to concept development. The methodology adopts the “key informant” approach to give voice to practitioners with SETA program expertise. Data are gathered using semi-structured interviews with 20 key informants from various geographic locations including the Gulf nations, Middle East, USA, UK and Ireland.

In this study, the analysis of these key informant interviews, following an inductive open, axial and selective coding approach, produces 11 CSFs for SETA program effectiveness. These CSFs are mapped along the phases of a SETA program lifecycle (design, development, implementation and evaluation) and nine relationships identified between the CSFs (within and across the lifecycle phases) are highlighted. The CSFs and CSFs' relationships are visualized in a Lifecycle Model of CSFs for SETA program effectiveness.

This research advances the first comprehensive conceptualization of the CSFs for SETA program effectiveness. The Lifecycle Model of CSFs for SETA program effectiveness provides valuable insights into the process of introducing and sustaining an effective SETA program in practice. The Lifecycle Model contributes to both theory and practice and lays the foundation for future studies.

There is a paucity of studies on the complex longitudinal dynamics of innovation incorporation within family‐based small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in response to market and technological change. Attempts at innovation implementation are likely to be influenced by the dynamic effects of critical incidents or crisis points in small family‐based firms. The aim of this EU‐funded study is to explore the effects of critical incidents on innovation implementation within a regional cluster of family‐based SMEs over a two‐year period.

The research methodology involves the longitudinal study of a regional cluster of five family‐based businesses in relation to innovation implementation at firm level. A participant observation and critical action learning methodology was used to study the firms over the two‐year period of the study.

The findings, as summarised using a conceptual model, show that the critical incidents acted interactively with the firm's lifecycle stage and its approach to family versus business, to either act as a catalyst for developing more radical innovation or in maintaining the status quo or continuous improvement.

The findings can act as a guide for how family‐based firms can evaluate and maximise their responses to critical incidents and leverage them to encourage more radical approaches to innovation implementation.

There is a paucity of longitudinal studies on the effect of critical incidents on approaches to innovation implementation in family businesses.

Despite its popularity, business process management (BPM) is not unequivocally defined, but obtains different forms with varying specifications. This paper presents a critical overview of BPM, as it appears within four dominant management paradigms: total quality management, standardized management systems, business process reengineering and Six Sigma. The purpose of this paper is to explore BPM specifications and compare the BPM implementation potential under each paradigm.

This is based on the analysis of a large number of highly cited scholarly publications. In order to identify the nature of BPM within each paradigm, a common framework for comparison is first established and then, for each paradigm, BPM is analyzed according to the main parameters of this framework.

Many differences among various BPM forms are paradigm driven. So, the approach adopted by each paradigm (i.e. individual-process or systemic approach) affects the scope and role of BPM. The principles of each paradigm directly affect the attributes assigned to BPM. Despite of important differences, the structure of BPM within all paradigms conforms to the stages of the classical BPM lifecycle. However, each paradigm assigns different weights to each stage and also displays different levels of BPM implementability.

The paper presents a first systematic comparison of BPM specifications for the dominant management paradigms primarily deployed. It thus explains why many attributes originating from the paradigms have crept into the general BPM specifications. This work can be considered as a step toward defining the core attributes of a paradigm-independent BPM model, thus enhancing its application scope as an invaluable management tool.