Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

How to Exploit the Digitalization Potential of Business Processes

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Business & Information Systems Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Process improvement is the most value-adding activity in the business process management (BPM) lifecycle. Despite mature knowledge, many approaches have been criticized to lack guidance on how to put process improvement into practice. Given the variety of emerging digital technologies, organizations not only face a process improvement black box, but also high uncertainty regarding digital technologies. This paper thus proposes a method that supports organizations in exploiting the digitalization potential of their business processes. To achieve this, action design research and situational method engineering were adopted. Two design cycles involving practitioners (i.e., managers and BPM experts) and end-users (i.e., process owners and participants) were conducted. In the first cycle, the method’s alpha version was evaluated by interviewing practitioners from five organizations. In the second cycle, the beta version was evaluated via real-world case studies. In this paper, detailed results of one case study, which was conducted at a semiconductor manufacturer, are included.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ackx S (2014) Emerging technologies, disrupt or be disrupted. In: Reimer H, Pohlmann N, Schneider W (eds) ISSE 2014 securing electronic business processes: highlights of the information security solutions Europe 2014 conference. Springer, Wiesbaden, pp 177–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Adesola S, Baines T (2005) Developing and evaluating a methodology for business process improvement. Bus Process Manag J 11(1):37–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen S (2015) The hyper-connected workforce. Resource document. Harv Bus Rev. https://hbr.org/resources/pdfs/comm/verizon/HBR_Report_Verizon_Workforce.pdf. Accessed 25 Apr 2016

  • Aral S, Dellarocas C, Godes D (2013) Social media and business transformation: a framework for research. Inf Syst Res 24(1):3–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armistead C, Pritchard J-P, Machin S (1999) Strategic business process management for organisational effectiveness. Long Range Plan 32(1):96–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashurst C, Doherty NF, Peppard J (2008) Improving the impact of IT development projects: the benefits realization capability model. Eur J Inf Syst 17(4):352–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bharadwaj A, El Sawy OA, Pavlou PA, Venkatraman N (2013) Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights. Manag Inf Syst Q 37(2):471–482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhatt GD (2000) An empirical examination of the effects of information systems integration on business process improvement. Int J Oper Prod Manag 20(11):1331–1359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braun C, Wortmann F, Hafner M, Winter R (2005) Method construction: a core approach to organizational engineering. In: Liebrock LM (ed) Proceedings of the 2005 ACM symposium on applied computing, pp 1295–1299

  • Briggs RO, Schwabe G (2011) On expanding the scope of design science in IS research. In: Hemant J, Atish PS, Padmal V (eds) Service-oriented perspectives in design science research: Proceedings of the 6th international conference on design science research in information systems and technology, Milwaukee, pp 92–106

  • Brinkkemper S (1996) Method engineering: engineering of information systems development methods and tools. Inf Softw Technol 38(4):275–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bucher T, Klesse M, Kurpjuweit S, Winter R (2007) Situational method engineering: on the differentiation of “context” and “project type”. In: Ralyté J, Brinkkemper S, Henderson-Sellers B (eds) Situational method engineering: fundamentals and experiences. Springer, Boston, pp 33–48

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman C, Ward S (2003) Project risk management: processes, techniques and insights, 2nd edn. Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke R (2016) Big data, big risks. Inf Syst J 26(1):77–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clemen RT, Fischer GW, Winkler RL (2000) Assessing dependence: some experimental results. Manag Sci 46(8):1100–1115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole J (2013) Accelerate your transformation: social, mobile, and analytics in the cloud. Capgemini Consulting. https://www.capgemini-consulting.com/resource-file-access/resource/pdf/cc_accelerate_your_transformation.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct 2016

  • Collin J (2015) Digitalization and dualistic IT. In: Collin J, Hiekkanen K, Korhonen JJ, Halén M, Itälä T, Helenius M (eds) IT leadership in transition: the impact of digitalization on finnish organizations. Aalto University, Helsinki, pp 29–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis B, Kellner MI, Over J (1992) Process modeling. Commun ACM 35(9):75–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dale LG, Ronald LT (1995) Task-technology fit and individual performance. Manag Inf Syst Q 19(2):213–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darmani A, Hanafizadeh P (2013) Business process portfolio selection in re-engineering projects. Bus Process Manag J 19(6):892–916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Bruin T, Rosemann M (2005) Towards a business process management maturity model. In: Bartmann D, Rajola F, Kallinikos J, Avison D, Winter R, Ein-Dor Pea (eds) Proceedings of the 13th European conference on information systems, Regensburg

  • Dijkman R, Vanderfeesten I, Reijers HA (2016) Business process architectures: overview, comparison and framework. Enterp Inf Syst 10(2):129–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dumas M, La Rosa M, Mendling J (2013) Fundamentals of business process management. Springer, Heidelberg

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Eckert J, Schaaf R (2009) Verfahren zur Präferenzmessung: Eine Übersicht und Beurteilung existierender und möglicher neuer Self-Explicated-Verfahren. J Betriebswirtschaft 59(1):31–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans ND (2016) Future skills. ITNOW 58(1):50–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forman EH, Gass SI (2001) The analytic hierarchy process: an exposition. Oper Res 49(4):469–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gartner (2015) Gartner hype cycle for emerging digital technologies. http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3114217. Accessed 26 Apr 2016

  • Gartner (2016) Gartner IT glossary: digitalization. http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/digitalization/. Accessed 2 May 2016

  • Gericke A, Fill H-G, Karagiannis D, Winter R (2009) Situational method engineering for governance, risk and compliance information systems. In: Proceedings of the 4th international conference on design science research in information systems and technology, Philadelphia, Paper 24

  • Gimpel H, Röglinger M (2015) Digital transformation: changes and chances: insights based on an empirical study. http://www.digital.fim-rc.de. Accessed 5 May 2016

  • Gottlieb J, Willmott P (2014) The digital tipping point. http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/business-technology/our-insights/the-digital-tipping-point-mckinsey-global-survey-results. Accessed 3 May 2016

  • Greco M, Grimaldi M, Hanandi M (2013) How to select knowledge management systems: a framework to support managers. Int J Eng Bus Manag 5(42):1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregor S, Hevner AR (2013) Positioning and presenting design science: research for maximum impact. Manag Inf Syst Q 37(2):337–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen AM, Kraemmergaard P, Mathiassen L (2011) Rapid adaptation in digital transformation: a participatory process for engaging IS and business leaders. Manag Inf Syst Exec 10(4):175–185

    Google Scholar 

  • Harmon P (2014) Business process change: a business process management guide for managers and process professionals, 3rd edn. The MK/OMG Press, Morgan Kaufmann, Waltham

    Google Scholar 

  • Harmon P, Wolf C (2016) The state of business process management 2016: BPTrends Report. http://www.bptrends.com/bpt/wp-content/uploads/2015-BPT-Survey-Report.pdf. Accessed 3 May 2016

  • Harrison R, Flood D, Duce D (2013) Usability of mobile applications: literature review and rationale for a new usability model. J Interact Sci 1(1):1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HBRAS – Harvard business review analytic services (2015) Driving digital transformation: new skills for leaders, new role for the CIO. Harv Bus School Publ, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson-Sellers B, Ralyté J (2010) Situational method engineering: state-of-the-art review. J Univers Comput Sci 16(3):424–478

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirt M, Willmott P (2014) Strategic principles for competing in the digital age. http://www.inseit.nl/ziw/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/20143012-McK-Strategic-principles-for-competing-in-the-digital-age.pdf. Accessed 3 May 2016

  • Hoos E, Gröger C, Kramer S, Mitschang B (2015) Value Apping: an analysis method to identify value-adding mobile enterprise apps in business processes. In: Cordeiro J, Hammoudi S, Maciaszek L, Camp O, Filipe J (eds) Enterprise Information Systems: 16th International Conference, ICEIS 2014, Lisbon, Revised Selected Papers. Springer, Cham, pp 222–243

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson F, Ågerfalk PJ, Hjalmarsson A (2001) method configuration with development tracks and generic project types. In: Proceedings of the 6th international workshop on evaluation of modelling methods in system analysis and design, Interlaken

  • Kirchmer M, Franz P, Lotterer A, Antonucci Y, Laengle S (2016) The value-switch for digitalization initiatives: business process management. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mathias_Kirchmer/publication/303401242_The_Value-Switch_for_Digitalization_Initiatives_Business_Process_Management/links/5740a7e408ae9f741b34e300.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct 2016

  • Leyer M, Diana H, Jürgen M (2015) Process performance management. In: vom Brocke J, Rosemann M (eds) Handbook on business process management 1: introduction, methods, and information systems, 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin, pp 227–241

  • Linhart A, Manderscheid J, Röglinger M, Schlott H (2015) Process improvement roadmapping: how to max out your process. In: Proceedings of the 36th international conference on information systems (ICIS), Fort Worth

  • Lorenz K (1995) Methode. In: Mittelstraß J (ed) Enzyklopädie Philosophie und Wissenschaftstheorie. Metzler, Stuttgart, pp 876–879

    Google Scholar 

  • Mansar SL, Reijers HA (2007) Best practices in business process redesign: use and impact. Bus Process Manag J 13(2):193–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansar SL, Reijers HA, Ounnar F (2009) Development of a decision-making strategy to improve the efficiency of BPR. Expert Syst Appl 36(2/2):3248–3262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March ST, Smith GF (1995) Design and natural science research on information technology. Decis Support Syst 15(4):251–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markus ML, Benjamin RI (1997) The magic bullet theory in IT-enabled transformation. Sloan Manag Rev 38(2):55–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Marston S, Li Z, Bandyopadhyay S, Zhang J, Ghalsasi A (2011) Cloud computing: the business perspective. Decis Support Syst 51(1):176–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matt C, Hess T, Benlian A (2015) Digital transformation strategies. Bus Inf Syst Eng 57(5):339–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mattern F, Huhn W, Perrey J, Dörner K, Lorenz J-T, Spillecke D (2012) Turning buzz into gold: how pioneers create value from social media. https://www.mckinsey.de/files/Social_Media_Brochure_Turning_buzz_into_gold.pdf. Accessed 22 Aug 2017

  • McDonald MP, Rowsell-Jones A (2012) The digital edge: exploiting information and technology for business advantage. Gartner

  • Mirbel I, Ralyté J (2006) Situational method engineering: combining assembly-based and roadmap-driven approaches. Requir Eng 11(1):58–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers MD, Newman M (2007) The qualitative interview in IS research: examining the craft. Inf Organ 17(1):2–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohlsson J, Han S, Johannesson P, Carpenhall F, Rusu L (2014) Prioritizing business processes improvement initiatives: the Seco Tools case. In: Proceedings of the international conference on advanced information systems engineering, LNCS 8484, Springer, pp 256–270

  • Polatidis H, Haralambopoulos DA, Munda G, Vreeker R (2006) Selecting an appropriate multi-criteria decision analysis technique for renewable energy planning. Energy Sour B 1(2):181–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Povey B (1998) The development of a best practice business process improvement methodology. Benchmarking Qual Manag Technol 5(1):27–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Priem RL, Butler JE, Li S (2013) Toward reimagining strategy research: retrospection and prospection on the 2011 AMR decade award article. Acad Manag Rev 38(4):471–489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ralyté J, Deneckère R, Rolland C (2003) Towards a generic model for situational method engineering. In: Eder J, Missikoff M (eds) Advanced information systems engineering, vol 2681. Springer, Velden, pp 95–110

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Recker J, Mendling J (2016) The state of the art of business process management research as published in the BPM conference. Bus Inf Syst Eng 58(1):55–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Recker J, Rosemann M (2014) Being innovative without being creative. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/75985/1/Being_Innovative_without_being_creative.pdf. Accessed 5 May 2016

  • Rosemann M (2014) Proposals for future BPM research directions. In: Ouyang C, Jung JY (eds) In: Proceedings of the 2nd Asia Pacific Business Process Management Conference. Springer, Cham

  • Rosemann M, vom Brocke J (2015) Handbook on business process management 1: introduction, methods, and information systems, 2nd edn. Springer, Heidelberg

    Google Scholar 

  • Saaty TL (1977) A scaling method for priorities in hierarchical structures. J Math Psychol 15(3):234–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saaty TL, Wind Y (1980) Marketing applications of the analytic hierarchy process. Manag Sci 26(7):641–658

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saltelli A, Tarantola S, Campolongo F, Ratto M (2004) Sensitivity analysis in practice: a guide to assessing scientific models. Wiley, Hoboken

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwaber K (1997) SCRUM development process. In: Sutherland J, Casanave C, Miller J, Patel P, Hollowell G (eds) Business object design and implementation: Proceedings of the OOPSLA’95 workshop. Springer, London, pp 117–134

  • Sein MK, Henfridsson O, Purao S, Rossi M, Lindgren R (2011) Action design research. Manag Inf Syst Q 35(1):37–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharp A, McDermott P (2009) Workflow modeling: tools for process improvement and application development, 2nd edn. Artech, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonnenberg C, vom Brocke J (2012) Evaluations in the science of the artificial: reconsidering the build-evaluate pattern in design science research. In: Peffers K, Rothenberger M, Kuechler B (eds) Design science research in information systems: advances in theory and practice. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 381–397

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Steele K, Carmel Y, Cross J, Wilcox C (2009) Uses and misuses of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) in environmental decision making. Risk Anal 29(1):26–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trkman P (2010) The critical success factors of business management. Int J Inf Manag 30(2):125–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turber S, Smiela C (2014) A business model type for the internet of things. In: Proceedings of the 22nd European conference on information systems, Tel Aviv, Paper 4

  • Uhl A, Born M, Koschmider A, Janasz T (2016) The importance of technological trends and how to exploit them for business excellence. In: Uhl A, Gollenia LA (eds) Digital enterprise transformation: a business-driven approach to leveraging innovative IT. Gower, Dorchester, pp 18–35

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Aalst WMP (2013) Business process management: a comprehensive survey. ISRN Softw Eng 2013:1–37. doi:http://doi.org/10.1155/2013/507984

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanwersch RJB, Shahzad K, Vanderfeesten I, Vanhaecht K, Grefen P, Pintelon L, Mendling J, van Merode GG, Reijers HA (2016) A critical evaluation and framework of business process improvement methods. Bus Inf Syst Eng 58(1):43–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vergidis K, Tiwari A, Majeed B (2008) Business process analysis and optimization: beyond reengineering. IEEE Trans Syst Man Cybern C 38(1):69–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • vom Brocke J, Zelt S, Schmiedel T (2016) On the role of context in business process management. Int J Inf Manag 36(3):486–495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu SP-J, Straub DW, Liang T-P (2015) How information technology governance mechanisms and strategic alignment influence organizational performance: insights from a matched survey of business and IT managers. Manag Inf Syst Q 39(2):497–518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoo S, Harman M, Tonella P, Susi A (2009) Clustering test cases to achieve effective and scalable prioritisation incorporating expert knowledge. In: Proceedings of the 18th international symposium on software testing and analysis, ACM, New York, pp 201–211

  • Yoo Y, Henfridsson O, Lyytinen K (2010) Research commentary – the new organizing logic of digital innovation: an agenda for information systems research. Inf Syst Res 21(4):724–735

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeising M, Schönig S, Jablonski S (2014) Towards a common platform for the support of routine and agile business processes. In: Proceedings of the 10th IEE international conference on collaborative computing: networking, applications and worksharing, Miami, pp 94–103

  • Zellner G (2011) A structured evaluation of business process improvement approaches. Bus Process Manag J 17(2):203–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center Finance and Information Management, University of Bayreuth, Wittelsbacherring 10, 95444, Bayreuth, Germany

    Marie-Sophie Denner, Louis Christian Püschel &  Maximilian Röglinger

Authors
  1. Marie-Sophie Denner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Louis Christian Püschel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Maximilian Röglinger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maximilian Röglinger.

Additional information

Accepted after one revision by Prof. Dr. Becker.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Denner, MS., Püschel, L.C. & Röglinger, M. How to Exploit the Digitalization Potential of Business Processes. Bus Inf Syst Eng 60, 331–349 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-017-0509-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-017-0509-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation