Leadership behavior and business process reengineering (BPR) outcomes: An empirical analysis of 30 BPR projects

Lack of leadership is frequently a cause for the high failure rate of business process reengineering (BPR) projects. According to many experts, BPR implementation requires a top-down, directive leadership style. Yet, it also requires the management of motivated, skilled, independent-thinking people doing non-programmable tasks for which a non-directive leadership style is most suited. This creates an inherent con ̄ict for BPR leaders on choosing the appropriate style. Applying the leadership effectiveness framework, this study conducted an in-depth empirical analyses of the relationship between IS leadership behavior and BPR outcomes for 30 BPR projects. We found that successful BPR leaders use leadership styles that ®t the type of task that needs to be done and the needs of the people that will perform the tasks. Also, successful BPR leaders balance their efforts between meeting the needs of the people doing the work and the needs of the work. The results provide guidelines for both leadership practice and empirical research. # 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.