An Integrative Framework for Measuring the Extent to which Organizational Variables Influence the Success of Process Improvement Programmes

• Published in: Journal of management studies 2005-11, Vol.42 (7), p.1357-1381
• Main Authors: Lok, Peter, Hung, Richard Y., Walsh, Paul, Wang, Paul, Crawford, John
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Business management; Business organization; Business studies; Economic performance; Enterprises; Management science; Organization theory; Organizational behavior; Organizational structure; Studies; Success
• ISSN: 0022-2380; 1467-6486
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00547.x

Studies on the three types of process improvement programmes (Continuous Improvement, Reengineering and Benchmarking) have appeared many times in the literature. These studies suggest that certain organizational variables act as enablers and their presence or absence can significantly influence success rates. Such studies have tended to examine companies where a single programme has been implemented. In contrast, this paper examines a sample of companies who have experienced all three programmes. Our aim is to compare and contrast each programme's impact on firm performance and identify which organizational variables are common and which are programme‐specific enablers of success. We build and test an integrative framework to support our analysis. Our study found that: (1) Reengineering delivered the greatest impact on performance; (2) executive commitment was needed to make this happen; (3) strategic alignment was the major influence on the success rate of Reengineering and Continuous Improvement programmes; and (4) employee empowerment was necessary for each programme to work effectively.