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Business Process Management and Digital Innovations: A Systematic Literature Review

Author

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  • Tahir Ahmad

    (Department of Business Informatics and Operations Management, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Amy Van Looy

    (Department of Business Informatics and Operations Management, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

Abstract

Emerging technologies have capabilities to reshape business process management (BPM) from its traditional version to a more explorative variant. However, to exploit the full benefits of new IT, it is essential to reveal BPM’s research potential and to detect recent trends in practice. Therefore, this work presents a systematic literature review (SLR) with 231 recent academic articles (from 2014 until May 2019) that integrate BPM with digital innovations (DI). We position those articles against seven future BPM-DI trends that were inductively derived from an expert panel. By complementing the expected trends in practice with a state-of-the-art literature review, we are able to derive covered and uncovered themes in order to help bridge a rigor-relevance gap. The major technological impacts within the BPM field seem to focus on value creation, customer engagement and managing human-centric and knowledge-intensive business processes. Finally, our findings are categorized into specific calls for research and for action to let scholars and organizations better prepare for future digital needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Tahir Ahmad & Amy Van Looy, 2020. "Business Process Management and Digital Innovations: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-30, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:17:p:6827-:d:402723
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael Lubatkin & Zeki Simsek & Yan Ling & John F. Veiga, 2006. "Ambidexterity and Performance in Small-to Medium-Sized Firms : The Pivotal Role of Top Management Team Behavioral Integration," Post-Print hal-02311781, HAL.
    2. Theresa Schmiedel & Jan vom Brocke, 2015. "Business Process Management: Potentials and Challenges of Driving Innovation," Management for Professionals, in: Jan vom Brocke & Theresa Schmiedel (ed.), BPM - Driving Innovation in a Digital World, edition 127, pages 3-15, Springer.
    3. Michael Rosemann & Jan Brocke, 2015. "The Six Core Elements of Business Process Management," International Handbooks on Information Systems, in: Jan vom Brocke & Michael Rosemann (ed.), Handbook on Business Process Management 1, edition 2, pages 105-122, Springer.
    4. Venkatraman, N. & Henderson, John C. & Oldach, Scott, 1993. "Continuous strategic alignment: Exploiting information technology capabilities for competitive success," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 139-149, June.
    5. Maria Guadalupe & Hongyi Li & Julie Wulf, 2014. "Who Lives in the C-Suite? Organizational Structure and the Division of Labor in Top Management," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(4), pages 824-844, April.
    6. Hyundo Choi, 2018. "Technology-push and demand-pull factors in emerging sectors: evidence from the electric vehicle market," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(7), pages 655-674, August.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    3. Reihaneh Hajishirzi & Carlos J. Costa & Manuela Aparicio, 2022. "Boosting Sustainability through Digital Transformation’s Domains and Resilience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Haneen Allataifeh & Sedigheh Moghavvemi, 2021. "The Individual Dimension of Digital Innovation: The Altered Roles of Innovation Agents and Market Actors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    5. Andi Abdul Dzuljalali Wal Ikram & Muslim Salam & M. Ramli AT & Sawedi Muhammad, 2025. "Employing Structural Equation Modeling to Examine the Determinants of Work Motivation and Performance Management in BUMDES: In Search of Key Driver Factors in Promoting Sustainable Rural Development Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-44, July.
    6. Qi Song & Xiaohong Chen & Hao Gu, 2023. "How Technological, Organizational, and Environmental Factors Drive Enterprise Digital Innovation: Analysis Based on the Dynamic FsQCA Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-22, August.
    7. Zhang, Yujie & Ba, Zhichao & Mao, Jin & Li, Gang, 2025. "Quantifying the impact of digital technology on enterprise processes using LLM-based causal claim networks," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3).
    8. Sławomir Ostrowski, 2021. "Commitment Ladder in the Relationship between Service Providers and Customers as Added Value in Sustainable Services Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    9. Siyue Zhang & Jiangtao Hong & Kwok Hung Lau & Yu Tian, 2026. "How digital transformation enhances supply chain resilience and organisational performance: a digital affordance perspective," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 359(3), pages 2795-2828, April.
    10. Amini, Ali & Rey-Mermet, Samuel & Crettenand, Steve & Münch-Alligné, Cécile, 2025. "A hybrid methodology for assessing hydropower plants under flexible operations: Leveraging experimental data and machine learning techniques," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 383(C).
    11. Itzhak Aviv & Irit Hadar & Meira Levy, 2021. "Knowledge Management Infrastructure Framework for Enhancing Knowledge-Intensive Business Processes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-32, October.

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