Empirical research in business process management: introduction to the special issue

The improvement of business processes is a perennial top priority of chief information executives (Gartner Group: Leading in Times of Transition 2010). When seeking to re-design business processes to improve operational efficiency, increase compliance or foster business innovation, managers increasingly turn to Business Process Management (BPM) (Smith and Fingar 2003). The attraction of BPM lies in its promise to create sustainable high-performing processes that demonstrate strategic strengths such as the ability to respond better to rapid change or to standardise operational best practice practices across business units or locations.