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Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Stefan Smolnik, Nils Urbach and Jerry L. Fjermestad

575

Abstract

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Nils Urbach, Stefan Smolnik and Gerold Riempp

The overall purpose of this study is to inform practitioners about the levers for improving their employee portals.

1516

Abstract

Purpose

The overall purpose of this study is to inform practitioners about the levers for improving their employee portals.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors introduce a theoretical model that is based on the DeLone and McLean IS success model, which considers the specific requirements of employee portals. They tested the associations between their model's success dimensions by using more than 4,400 employees' responses, which were collected in 12 companies across different industries. They applied structural equation modeling to carry out the causal analysis. In addition, within a performance‐based analysis, they further investigated the success dimensions' improvement potentials.

Findings

The results of the causal analysis indicate that besides the factors contributing to the success of information systems (IS) in general, other success dimensions – like the quality of the collaboration and process support – have to be considered when aiming for a successful employee portal. The performance‐based analysis emphasizes the significance of collaboration quality to improve an employee portal and indentifies the respective fields of action.

Research limitations/implications

This paper's contribution to theory is the empirical validation of a model for investigating employee portal success. The performance‐based analysis further elaborates on the causal analysi's findings. The results advance theoretical development in the area of employee portals and serve as a basis for future research in this field.

Practical implications

This model offers a means for organizations to evaluate and predict the success of employee portals. The study's findings make it possible for practitioners to understand the levers with which to improve their employee portals and to prioritize their investments accordingly.

Originality/value

This study is among the first, which empirically validates a comprehensive success model for employee portals and highlights its practical usefulness by means of a performance‐based analysis.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Tim Jacks, Prashant Palvia, Richard Schilhavy and Lei Wang

Despite the constant stream of research investigating information technology (IT) business value, IT capabilities, and competitive advantage, researchers are calling for a more…

3161

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the constant stream of research investigating information technology (IT) business value, IT capabilities, and competitive advantage, researchers are calling for a more coherent understanding of the firm‐level impacts of IT, and how those firm‐level impacts can be measured. The purpose of this study is to investigate the multitude of organization‐level studies of the impact of IT.

Design/methodology/approach

Meta‐analysis of IS literature from 2001‐2009.

Findings

The findings are synthesized into an overarching framework of the impact of IT at the organization level. The framework categorizes measures of the impact of IT into productivity, profitability, and intangible benefits, while the antecedents of IT impact are categorized into IT resources, IT capabilities, IT/business alignment and external factors.

Originality/value

The research framework proposed provides a comprehensive snapshot of IS studies on organizational performance.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Paul Cragg and Annette Mills

The study aimed to focus on how well information technology (IT) was supporting business processes in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

3039

Abstract

Purpose

The study aimed to focus on how well information technology (IT) was supporting business processes in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The study collected data using a questionnaire that incorporated the 12 processes of the American Productivity and Quality Center's (APQC) process classification framework. Structured interviews were conducted with managers in 66 SMEs.

Findings

The data indicated the importance of each process and how well IT supported each process. The following two core business processes were identified as strategically most important: deliver products and services, and manage customer service. Although the evidence indicated that the most important business processes were supported at an acceptable level, IT support was found to be low for many business processes. IT support also varied considerably across the sample, indicating that some firms have much higher IT support for business processes than others.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of the study is that it used a new instrument. Also, all the firms were SMEs in one part of one country. The study created an instrument that can be used by managers as a diagnostic tool to help SMEs identify areas for business improvement.

Practical implications

The study indicates that the business process view provides a useful lens for studying IT support. There seems to be much potential for SMEs to improve their IT support for some business processes.

Originality/value

The focus on IT support for business processes is original, especially by examining support for the broad range of processes of the APQC's model.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Petra Schubert and Susan P. Williams

Identifying the benefits arising from implementations of enterprise systems and realizing business value remains a significant challenge for both research and industry. This paper…

3429

Abstract

Purpose

Identifying the benefits arising from implementations of enterprise systems and realizing business value remains a significant challenge for both research and industry. This paper aims to consolidate previous work. It presents a framework for investigating enterprise systems benefits and business change, which addresses the identified limitations of previous research and provides a more detailed analysis of benefits and their contextual variation.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on data gathered from 31 real‐world organizations (case studies) of differing size, maturity, and industry sector, the study adopts an iterative content analysis to empirically derive a comprehensive benefits framework.

Findings

The content analysis provides a detailed classification of expectations and benefits, which is described in a four‐level framework. The four levels (areas) are further subdivided into aspects and criteria plus an attributed appraisal value. The resulting scheme for the “three‐level benefit codes” provides a greater level of detail about the nature of expected and realized benefits.

Practical implications

The high level of detail and the code scheme comprising 60 different codes and the method for deriving the codes allows companies to identify and define benefits as well as to assess the outcome of enterprise systems implementation projects.

Originality/value

The paper empirically develops an applicable benefits framework, which addresses the lack of detail of previous frameworks.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Martin Gersch, Michael Hewing and Bernd Schöler

In contemporary times process‐oriented approaches in information management are elementary in meeting business challenges. However, most methods for business process management…

5880

Abstract

Purpose

In contemporary times process‐oriented approaches in information management are elementary in meeting business challenges. However, most methods for business process management (BPM) focus on improved performance from only the company's perspective. They neglect the growing importance of value co‐creation between company and customer that typically results from a service‐dominant logic. Modern BPM methods need to focus on the internal performance of processes whilst including the customer's perspective. This paper aims to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

By combining the market‐oriented approach, service blueprinting, with the syntax of business process modeling, the authors introduce a method that visualizes and analyzes processes simultaneously from the company's and customer's point of view. Within this integrated approach, information management and marketing are linked. A used case illustrates implementation and benefits of this method.

Findings

This paper addresses the gap between marketing and information management sciences. “Business Process Blueprinting” (BP2) provides a conceptual foundation for a further integration of these two scopes of interest.

Research limitations/implications

The integrated view on processes supports an enhanced understanding of process performance. In its current stage, the method reflects a basic combined approach – further development is needed. Well‐established models and tools from controlling and marketing as well as from other fields can be integrated to open this analysis for service elements.

Practical implications

Applying BP2 to practical process analysis promotes a better understanding of the customer's process perception. This potentially leads to a more efficient and effective process design.

Originality/value

The paper introduces the missing method for the integration of the effectiveness‐driven perspective into business process modeling.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Antti Nurmi, Petri Hallikainen and Matti Rossi

In large system development efforts organizational and managerial issues are often more challenging than technical ones. One of the key concerns of managers is the control and…

Abstract

Purpose

In large system development efforts organizational and managerial issues are often more challenging than technical ones. One of the key concerns of managers is the control and evaluation of the overall development effort. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the evaluation of system development process in a setting where there are multiple stakeholders in multiple organizations that develop a common information system (IS). The case is a consortium of universities that has developed a common student registrar system over a period of more than ten years.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a social process model to analyze the episodes and encounters in the system development and evaluation process. The research approach can be characterized as action case.

Findings

The authors found that in the early stages of system development the evaluation was emergent or even non‐existent. As the system was developed further and issues, such as delays and missing features, arose, there was a need for better control of the process. Thus, the evaluation process evolved through a series of critical encounters into a more proactive one.

Research limitations/implications

The authors studied only one case so broad generalizations directly from the case cannot be made. However, the results could hold true for similar settings. The authors believe that the results are interesting to both researchers and practitioners since in outsourcing relationships the consortium kind of arrangement is becoming more common.

Originality/value

The authors analyze the evolution of IS evaluation processes in a setting with multiple client and vendor organizations and reveal the complexities of system evaluation in such settings. Moreover, they introduce three new concepts: reactive, transitional and proactive evaluation processes. These concepts can help researchers and practitioners to better understand the nature of the IS evaluation processes and to possibly choose an evaluation approach that has a better “fit” with the development situation at hand.

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Axel Winkelmann and Burkhard Weiß

Financial institutions have been engaged in numerous business process reengineering (BPR) projects to make their organizations more efficient. However, the success of BPR projects…

2640

Abstract

Purpose

Financial institutions have been engaged in numerous business process reengineering (BPR) projects to make their organizations more efficient. However, the success of BPR projects in banks varies significantly and it remains a challenge to systematically discover weaknesses in business process landscapes. Based on the flow chart notation language this paper seeks to argue for the definition of weakness patterns in order to automatically identify potential process weaknesses.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors developed weakness patterns in the flow chart notation language based on design science principles. To systematically derive process weaknesses that can be formalized, they analyzed each element of the flow chart notation as it was used in a real‐life case. They furthermore tested the identified patterns in reality in order to evaluate their validity.

Findings

The authors identified various potential weakness patterns that helped in automatically identifying weaknesses in process models. To some extent these findings are generalizable and transferable to other process modeling languages.

Research limitations/implications

The pattern‐based approach depends upon how well structural weakness patterns are defined and formalized. Identified problems remain “potential” weaknesses until a manual analysis reveals that the identified potential weaknesses are actually real weaknesses or not, e.g. due to law regulations.

Practical implications

Using weakness patterns allows for automatically identifying potential process weaknesses in existing flow chart models. This way, this research helps in improving the so far manual analysis of process model landscapes.

Originality/value

The approach is a new way of looking for process weaknesses through process weakness patterns.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Kenia Sousa, Hildeberto Mendonça, Amandine Lievyns and Jean Vanderdonckt

This paper aims to present a case study of the application of a methodology that represents an innovative strategy that integrates researches on interaction design and business…

1995

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a case study of the application of a methodology that represents an innovative strategy that integrates researches on interaction design and business process management with practical implications. This methodology is devoted to aligning the needs of enterprise system users with business processes (BPs).

Design/methodology/approach

This approach establishes an unbroken network of links between BPs, task models and abstract representations of user interfaces. Once the models are linked, it is possible to identify the impact that any change on these models may produce in other models. The main challenge is to organize the linked models according to the organizational context and manage those links with consistency in order to support improving process efficiency and user productivity. This approach has been applied in a large telecommunications organization during four months with its application in two different projects and validated with a cost‐benefit analysis.

Findings

Applying this approach in large organizations has demonstrated that: every involved stakeholder is capable of understanding the whole approach in one working day; creating the models and linking them with the corresponding business process models takes around three men/day per core business process; and applying this approach brings up to 60 per cent of return on investment related to process improvement and user experience.

Originality/value

The main differentials of this methodology include using simple models; considering light actions; preserving the independence of technology; and adopting a human‐oriented approach assuring that every managed information impacts people and not only systems, thus enabling fast adaptation to the business dynamism.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 April 2020

Stephan Kudyba, Jerry Fjermestad and Thomas Davenport

The evolving digital transformations of organizational processes involve vast complexities. Factors such as labor resources at the individual and team levels that integrate and…

3397

Abstract

Purpose

The evolving digital transformations of organizational processes involve vast complexities. Factors such as labor resources at the individual and team levels that integrate and utilize information resources and evolving technologies to achieve collective intelligence are essential to this process. In order to better understand evolving demands of labor resources, existing research regarding worker/technology interactions for firm performance must be implemented and adapted to the changing market. This paper provides a conceptual research model enabling organizations to better understand the integration of worker/team attributes with collaboration modes, information resources and augmented technologies that yield effective collective intelligence for decision-making.

Design/methodology/approach

This manuscript includes a literature review on worker/team attributes interfacing with various technology platforms and the creation of collective intelligence. It then reviews complementary research including leadership elements for organizational outcomes and introduces more current work involving a digital transformation. The literature review provides the underpinnings for a conceptual model that incorporates essential elements for the creation of collective intelligence for decision-making and adds factors that are relevant for digital transformations. These elements include augmented technologies including cognitive technologies, collaborative platforms and worker attributes (skills, social sensitivity, leadership) all of which illustrate components of intellectual capital.

Findings

The paper summarizes key findings of existing research in worker/team interactions with technology platforms on organizational performance and provides an applied, conceptual research model incorporating these findings, along with new elements in the digital era for better identifying new worker requirements.

Originality/value

The value of this work is the introduction of an applied conceptual model based on established literature findings that includes new technologies (e.g. cognitive technologies), collaboration modes and worker/team attributes to address the requirements of the evolving knowledge worker in the digital era. It provides a framework to better understand more optimal resource allocations for the creation of collective intelligence and integrates the model components within an intellectual capital framework.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 21 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

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