To help evaluate the risk of process reengineering failure and enhance the prospect of its success, three potential sources of influence on BPR initiatives and success are examined in this study. These include the innovative capacity of the organization, IS maturity and strategy-IS interface. It was found that while factors related to IT maturity and influence such as experience in mainframe and client/server computing may facilitate the decision to reengineer, they are not critical in the later stages of the initiative. On the other hand, factors having significant relationships beyond the initial decision include variables pertaining to innovative capacity of the organization and strategy-IS interface. These findings suggest that technical IT competence as a critical enabler is necessary but not sufficient for reengineering success. Based on study findings regarding the innovative capacity of the organization, guidelines for reengineering risk assessment are proposed. In addition, implications of the findings, limitations of the study and opportunities for further research are also discussed.
Over the past decade, we have witnessed an increasingly convergent set of communications and computing technologies that are being recognized as facilitators of fundamental business change[61]. Davenport and Short[17] identified information technology (IT) capabilities that can be leveraged to redesign business processes. These include technologies that capture and disseminate expert knowledge, transform unstructured processes into routinized transactions, and enable changes in the sequence of tasks in a process, allowing the simultaneous execution of multiple tasks, etc. However, it should be noted that the concept of business process reengineering (BPR) has evolved over a long period of time, drawing elements from a number of business improvement methods such as industrial engineering, systems analysis and design, social-technical design, and total quality management[18]. In fact, for many decades since the introduction of electronic computers, the theme for computer applications in organizations has been gradually shifting from that of automation, i.e., the computerization of existing procedures, toward an attempt to modifying or even radically changing the traditional business processes[15].
As is often the case with other popular management methods before it, BPR is undergoing its own life cycle of evolution. With the initial bandwagon effect fading and reports of BPR failures surfacing, more attention is now focused on the implementation of reengineering[10]. There is growing realization that IT is a critical enabler, but reengineering involves complex socio-technical change in the organization44 and 57. Sources of reengineering failure, according to Clemons et al.[11], can be attributed to behavioral factors such as employees' misconception of the organization's strategies. As process reengineering is a multi-faceted phenomenon, it would be difficult to interpret the complex organizational change involved with a single perspective, and the inclusion of multiple views is critical[31]. A number of previous BPR studies were based on this multi-dimensional perspective. Hall et al.[29], for example, have demonstrated the importance of a diverse array of organizational factors to BPR success. In an integrated BPR planning framework, Grover et al.[28] have recognized vital links between process reengineering initiation and success to corporate strategic planning, strategic IT planning and the innovative environment in the organization.
Adopting this multi-dimensional perspective of process and organizational change, the purpose of this study is to explore what organizational, technological, and strategic elements need to be in place if radical process change is to take place and has a chance to succeed. Specifically, the objective of the research is to examine the significance of three sources of influence on BPR initiatives and success: (1) the innovative capacity of the organization, (2) the information systems (IS) function maturity and influence and (3) the strategy-IS interface. In addition, we also attempt to uncover important patterns of reengineering practice such as the type of business processes reengineered and the relative importance of various BPR performance objectives
In just a few years, the process reengineering concept has spread rapidly among organizations seeking breakthrough performance gains. In this study, we attempt to improve our understanding of this phenomenon by gathering evidence via broad-based samples from the field. In addition to presenting important patterns of reengineering practice, we have identified a number of potentially facilitating sources of influence on BPR initiatives in terms of the decision to reengineer, the extent of IS commitment to the effort, and perceived level of reengineering success. These sources of influence, which represent important attributes of the innovative capacity of the organization, IS maturity and influence, and strategy-IS interface, help us to better understand the potential influence of the IS function and organizational context on reengineering project initiatives. One pattern of findings that is particularly relevant to the IS profession is the role of technical IT competence in BPR initiatives. We found that experience in mainframe and client/server computing, while potentially facilitating the decision to reengineer, is not critical in the later stages of the initiative. On the other hand, factors having significant relationships beyond the initial decision include mostly variables pertaining to innovative capacity of the organization and strategy-IS interface. These study findings strongly suggest that, in order to contribute to the reengineering effort, IS professionals need to develop skill in analyzing the organization and interfacing with the corporate strategy. These organizational assessments, as demonstrated by the reengineering risk assessment grid (see Fig. 5), can be invaluable in evaluating the risk of failure and taking steps to enhance the prospect of BPR success. The overarching importance of “joint optimization” in process reengineering initiatives anchored on business strategy, IT strategy and organization strategy 39 and 63 has been clearly demonstrated in this study.
