Business process reengineering and performance improvement: The case of Chase Manhattan Bank

Previous researchers have investigated the principles of business process reengineering (BPR) and how firms approach this process. However, previous research makes no distinction among BPR projects in different organizational contexts. The present research investigates the BPR methods best suited for financial institutions. Based on a case study conducted in Chase Manhattan Bank, this research attempts to provide guidelines for BPR projects in financial institutions that will help them achieve dramatic performance gains. Chase BPR projects include four phases encompassing a wide scope of activities: energize, focus, invent, and launch. As seen in Chase BPR projects such as e-fund disbursement cards and service charge reengineering, these efforts resulted in new products and services in addition to producing dramatic increases in revenue and operating savings. Introduction Information technology has profoundly changed the way we do business during the past decade. Business process reengineering (BPR) offers one method for managing this change while at the same time making it possible to achieve dramatic gains in business performance. However, not all BPR projects have been successful in achieving dramatic performance gains. The continuing demand for business process improvements has resulted in a proliferation of consultants, methodologies, techniques, and tools for conducting BPR projects (Kettinger et al., 1997). This flood of BPR methodologies has often left BPR project planners confused about which methods are best suited to their needs. This lack of consensus on BPR methods has resulted in many unsuccessful BPR projects. Previous research has investigated the principles of BPR and how firms approach this process (Hammer, 1990; Hammer and Champy, 1993; Earl, 1994; Davenport, 1995; Kettinger and Grover, 1995; Stoddard and Jarvenpaa, 1995; Harkness et al., 1996). However, the elaboration of these general principles makes no distinction among BPR projects in different organizational contexts. The characteristics of BPR projects in financial institutions differ from those of a manufacturing firms because business processes for financial institutions are T h e r e s e a r c h r e g is te r fo r th is jo u r n a l is a v a i la b le a t http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregisters T h e cu r r e n t i s s u e a n d fu l l t e x t a r c h iv e o f t h is jo u rn a l i s a v a ila b le a t http://www.emeraldinsight.com/1463-7154.htm