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Amy Van Looy is an associate professor with the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University (Belgium), and is head of the research cluster “Process orientation” at the UGentMIS research group. Her research interests include business process management and digital innovation. Previously, she worked as an IT consultant. Contact her at personal website: http://www.amyvanlooy.eu/
Organizations strive to develop a variety of capabilities to improve and measure business processes. Researchers have used various maturity models to investigate the development of a business process orientation (BPO), and most have argued that such a development comes in stages. Current literature underestimates the interrelationships between BPO capabilities and fails to consider multidimensional or non-linear paths to maturity. To refine the features of maturity models, this study relies on configuration theory to uncover different archetypes for BPO development and quantitatively evaluate them by examining performance differences among archetypes based on a large-scale international dataset. The resulting empirical taxonomy with seven BPO archetypes establishes important performance differences between organizations at a similar maturity level. Besides strengthening the theoretical foundations of BPO and making maturity assessments more multifaceted, the results help organizations give their managerial efforts a focus by enabling comparison with peers in the same archetype and showing various paths for BPO improvement.
Amy Van Looy; Peter Trkman; Els Clarysse. A Configuration Taxonomy of Business Process Orientation. Business & Information Systems Engineering 2021, 1 -15.
AMA StyleAmy Van Looy, Peter Trkman, Els Clarysse. A Configuration Taxonomy of Business Process Orientation. Business & Information Systems Engineering. 2021; ():1-15.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAmy Van Looy; Peter Trkman; Els Clarysse. 2021. "A Configuration Taxonomy of Business Process Orientation." Business & Information Systems Engineering , no. : 1-15.
Business Process Management ambidexterity is a nascent concept providing a philosophy and framework for organizations to radically innovate their business processes, while maintaining their capabilities in process efficiency and operational excellence. Considering the novelty of this topic, there is not yet an agreed conceptualization of the term, nor a consolidated view on related implementation guidelines. We aim to address this research gap through a Systematic Literature Review, where we provide a dual conceptualization that focuses on (1) the equilibrium balance between explorative and exploitative processes, as well as (2) the organizational capability to support exploration and exploitation. Based on this conceptualization, we provide consolidated guidelines for practitioners, including decision steps, followed by a research agenda in order to let this promising domain further advance.
Tomasz Helbin; Amy Van Looy. Is Business Process Management (BPM) Ready for Ambidexterity? Conceptualization, Implementation Guidelines and Research Agenda. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1906 .
AMA StyleTomasz Helbin, Amy Van Looy. Is Business Process Management (BPM) Ready for Ambidexterity? Conceptualization, Implementation Guidelines and Research Agenda. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (4):1906.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTomasz Helbin; Amy Van Looy. 2021. "Is Business Process Management (BPM) Ready for Ambidexterity? Conceptualization, Implementation Guidelines and Research Agenda." Sustainability 13, no. 4: 1906.
The COVID‐19 pandemic has forced organizations and employees worldwide to drastically rethink their way of working. While drastic process changes normally tend to fail or are challenged by employee resistance, the COVID‐19 pandemic has reduced this impediment so that organizations actually experience how alternative (i.e., more simple and digitalized) working alternatives can look like. This opinion paper calls for more business process management (BPM) ambidexterity in organizations, so that the alternatives experienced during COVID‐19 can be evaluated and remain after the pandemic. For this purpose, a BPM tree is proposed to outweigh incremental process improvements from more radical ones, in order for organizations to exploit good practices but also to better explore emerging opportunities.
Amy Van Looy. How the COVID ‐19 pandemic can stimulate more radical business process improvements: Using the metaphor of a tree. Knowledge and Process Management 2021, 28, 107 -116.
AMA StyleAmy Van Looy. How the COVID ‐19 pandemic can stimulate more radical business process improvements: Using the metaphor of a tree. Knowledge and Process Management. 2021; 28 (2):107-116.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAmy Van Looy. 2021. "How the COVID ‐19 pandemic can stimulate more radical business process improvements: Using the metaphor of a tree." Knowledge and Process Management 28, no. 2: 107-116.
The information revolution leaves its mark on businesses, resulting in organizations looking for digital innovation (DI) to apply to their business processes and anticipate competitors. Since the interplay between business process management (BPM) and DI has been underdeveloped, this mixed-methods article investigates the strength and nature of the relationship. We supplement the findings of an international survey (stage 1) with explanations from an expert panel (stage 2) to generalize a positive yet moderate link because of manifold contextual factors affecting strategic decision-making. We extend the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework and profile organizations along their digital process innovation (DPI) mastery in a readiness matrix.
Amy Van Looy. A quantitative and qualitative study of the link between business process management and digital innovation. Information & Management 2020, 58, 103413 .
AMA StyleAmy Van Looy. A quantitative and qualitative study of the link between business process management and digital innovation. Information & Management. 2020; 58 (2):103413.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAmy Van Looy. 2020. "A quantitative and qualitative study of the link between business process management and digital innovation." Information & Management 58, no. 2: 103413.
Purpose While the business process management (BPM) literature highlights the significance of aligning employee appraisals and rewards practices with business processes, little is known about the realization. The purpose of this paper is to concretize the impact of process-oriented appraisals and rewards on business process performance and to provide empirical evidence on how organizations actually align their appraisals and rewards practices with BPM. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method approach has been employed by combining survey results with case studies to offer first-hand evidence. Survey data have been used to quantify the real impact of process-oriented appraisals and rewards. Next, case studies with 10 organizations have allowed us to gain deeper insight into organizational practices for making appraisals and rewards more process-oriented. Findings The survey proves that process-oriented employee appraisals and rewards positively affect performance if different employee levels are involved. The case studies reveal similarities and differences in alignment efforts across organizations, based on pattern-matching and a multidimensional analysis, resulting in four alignment patterns. Research limitations/implications The findings extend knowledge about appraisals and rewards within a business process context by providing a quantification and pattern refinement, which specifically advance a BPM-facilitating culture. Practical implications Managers and executives benefit from the recommendations for a gradual BPM adoption to improve the success of their business processes and their people-related practices. Originality/value The authors offer one of the first in-depth, cross-disciplinary studies that intend to bridge between the disciplines of BPM and human resource management (HRM).
Aygun Shafagatova; Amy Van Looy. Alignment patterns for process-oriented appraisals and rewards: using HRM for BPM capability building. Business Process Management Journal 2020, 27, 941 -964.
AMA StyleAygun Shafagatova, Amy Van Looy. Alignment patterns for process-oriented appraisals and rewards: using HRM for BPM capability building. Business Process Management Journal. 2020; 27 (3):941-964.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAygun Shafagatova; Amy Van Looy. 2020. "Alignment patterns for process-oriented appraisals and rewards: using HRM for BPM capability building." Business Process Management Journal 27, no. 3: 941-964.
Aygun Shafagatova; Amy Van Looy. Developing a tool for process‐oriented appraisals and rewards: Design science research. Journal of Software: Evolution and Process 2020, 33, 1 .
AMA StyleAygun Shafagatova, Amy Van Looy. Developing a tool for process‐oriented appraisals and rewards: Design science research. Journal of Software: Evolution and Process. 2020; 33 (3):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAygun Shafagatova; Amy Van Looy. 2020. "Developing a tool for process‐oriented appraisals and rewards: Design science research." Journal of Software: Evolution and Process 33, no. 3: 1.
Innovating business processes by means of emerging technologies may lead to significant productivity increases and economic growth. However, each innovation involves risks and creates uncertainties, especially when this is done with still immature technologies. By conducting an expert panel followed by multiple case studies, we have compiled a list of frequently occurring obstacles with lessons learned. By offering a practical framework that outlines good practices per organization type, we acknowledge different approaches in achieving digital process innovation.
Amy Van Looy. Innovating Organizational Processes With New Technologies: Problems and Solutions. IT Professional 2020, 22, 71 -80.
AMA StyleAmy Van Looy. Innovating Organizational Processes With New Technologies: Problems and Solutions. IT Professional. 2020; 22 (5):71-80.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAmy Van Looy. 2020. "Innovating Organizational Processes With New Technologies: Problems and Solutions." IT Professional 22, no. 5: 71-80.
Given the advancements in artificial intelligence, organizations are increasingly interested in applying robotics to their business processes. Unlike the many technological implications, we focus on the human side of robotics which remains under-investigated for higher-skilled employees. We particularly consider employee acceptance of intelligent robots with cognitive skills. During 48 interviews, hypothetical dilemmas regarding manual work, full- and semi-automation are discussed by office workers, managers and IT consultants. The results show that employees are positive about intelligent robots. The majority are willing to transfer repetitive tasks as long as humans can control outputs for accountability. However, employees prefer keeping tasks with creativity and human interaction. Many tasks can thus already be replaced by robotics, but more attention is needed for the facilitating role of organizations (e.g., training). The findings affect innovation strategies for implementing intelligent robots with reduced social implications. The idea of a step-by-step plan encourages a gradual adoption.
Amy Van Looy. Adding Intelligent Robots to Business Processes: A Dilemma Analysis of Employees’ Attitudes. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 2020, 435 -452.
AMA StyleAmy Van Looy. Adding Intelligent Robots to Business Processes: A Dilemma Analysis of Employees’ Attitudes. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 2020; ():435-452.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAmy Van Looy. 2020. "Adding Intelligent Robots to Business Processes: A Dilemma Analysis of Employees’ Attitudes." Lecture Notes in Computer Science , no. : 435-452.
BPM maturity models (MMs) help organizations accomplish the BPM capabilities paramount for organizational success. Although much literature deals with how to design MMs, little knowledge exists of how organizations use BPM MMs. Moreover, the academic literature about MMs is scattered, making it hard for practitioners to learn from academia. Our purpose is to offer a holistic journey to guide organizations through three phases of BPM MM use, namely (1) choosing one out of many MMs that fits the organization’s context, (2) tailoring the MM to particular needs, and (3) advising during and after a maturity assessment. Starting from a synthesis of known guidelines, a framework for BPM MM adaption is presented with evidence of its applicability when organizations are conducting maturity assessments. The analysis calls for research to derive specific guidelines for different contexts, e.g., for different levels of maturity and/or when maturity assessments are driven by consultants.
Wasana Bandara; Amy Van Looy; John Merideth; Lara Meyers. Holistic Guidelines for Selecting and Adapting BPM Maturity Models (BPM MMs). Business Information Systems 2020, 263 -278.
AMA StyleWasana Bandara, Amy Van Looy, John Merideth, Lara Meyers. Holistic Guidelines for Selecting and Adapting BPM Maturity Models (BPM MMs). Business Information Systems. 2020; ():263-278.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWasana Bandara; Amy Van Looy; John Merideth; Lara Meyers. 2020. "Holistic Guidelines for Selecting and Adapting BPM Maturity Models (BPM MMs)." Business Information Systems , no. : 263-278.
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.
Tahir Ahmad; Amy Van Looy. Business Process Management and Digital Innovations: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6827 .
AMA StyleTahir Ahmad, Amy Van Looy. Business Process Management and Digital Innovations: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (17):6827.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTahir Ahmad; Amy Van Looy. 2020. "Business Process Management and Digital Innovations: A Systematic Literature Review." Sustainability 12, no. 17: 6827.
Business process management (BPM) examines how work is performed in organizations. As environmental sustainability and context awareness are important to organizations, this study addresses two BPM calls. First, it focuses on the ecological impact of business processes. Second, this research recognizes the effect of an organization's business context when applying BPM. We have developed hypotheses to statistically analyze the effect of organization location, sector, size, and competitiveness (i.e., as contextual factors) on Green BPM adoption (RQ1). Additionally, the study reveals which BPM capabilities contribute more to an organization's society‐related performance (RQ2). The research questions were examined by means of a correlation analysis, hypothesis testing, and a regression analysis. The data set contained 100 BPM‐related responses from 403 high‐level managers, working in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India. For RQ1, we found a strong dependency between Green BPM adoption and organization size and competitiveness. For RQ2, although all BPM capabilities are positively linked to society‐related performance, four of them are of the highest importance, namely: (1) process‐based external relationships; (2) process‐oriented values, attitudes, and behaviors; (3) process‐oriented organization chart; and (4) process‐oriented governance bodies. We conclude with a discussion of these results, and we offer Green BPM decision‐making advice to practitioners.
Dries Couckuyt; Amy Van Looy. An empirical study on Green BPM adoption: Contextual factors and performance. Journal of Software: Evolution and Process 2020, 33, 1 .
AMA StyleDries Couckuyt, Amy Van Looy. An empirical study on Green BPM adoption: Contextual factors and performance. Journal of Software: Evolution and Process. 2020; 33 (3):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDries Couckuyt; Amy Van Looy. 2020. "An empirical study on Green BPM adoption: Contextual factors and performance." Journal of Software: Evolution and Process 33, no. 3: 1.
Digital innovation (DI) profits from new IT opportunities to affect the internal and external interactions of organizations. This impact is also present on business process management (BPM), which is an important managerial approach, resulting in digital process innovation projects to acquire more reliable business processes for all stakeholders. While most studies focus on the innovation outcome of better serving end customers, this study takes the perspective of employees who are crucial agents for executing and digitalizing work. Based on a representative European dataset, we statistically investigated current work practices related to DI and BPM, and linked them to work satisfaction. Our classification presents five types of current digital-oriented work practices, which we translated into a gradual adoption model. Remarkably, the more advanced groups of digital workers also had a lower work satisfaction. We encourage organizations to launch efforts for affecting employees’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to help realize digital work more efficiently.
Pooria Jafari; Amy Van Looy. A Classification of Digital-Oriented Work Practices. Business Information Systems 2020, 49 -59.
AMA StylePooria Jafari, Amy Van Looy. A Classification of Digital-Oriented Work Practices. Business Information Systems. 2020; ():49-59.
Chicago/Turabian StylePooria Jafari; Amy Van Looy. 2020. "A Classification of Digital-Oriented Work Practices." Business Information Systems , no. : 49-59.
Purpose Green Business Process Management (BPM) focusses on the ecological impact of business processes. Although it is an emerging field, different attitudes exist towards the discipline’s name, the objectives and the approaches to realise them. By means of a systematic literature review, the purpose of this paper is to arrive at a common understanding of the discipline for successful development. Design/methodology/approach The review methodology relies on a hermeneutic framework which integrates the search, analysis and interpretation of the literature. The sample is used in a text analysis to find an appropriate definition (RQ1), a bibliometric analysis to give insights in current Green BPM contributions (RQ2) and a content analysis to present differences with conventional BPM (RQ3). Findings Green BPM follows a similar development as conventional BPM, namely from a more technical perspective to also including the managerial perspective. More research is required that goes beyond the traditional business process lifecycle. Originality/value The research questions generated a comprehensive overview about application domains and research topics, which in turn can deliver benefits for both research and practitioner-related communities. Researchers identify future research avenues, while practitioners find appropriate Green BPM techniques for their domain.
Dries Couckuyt; Amy Van Looy. A systematic review of Green Business Process Management. Business Process Management Journal 2019, 26, 421 -446.
AMA StyleDries Couckuyt, Amy Van Looy. A systematic review of Green Business Process Management. Business Process Management Journal. 2019; 26 (2):421-446.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDries Couckuyt; Amy Van Looy. 2019. "A systematic review of Green Business Process Management." Business Process Management Journal 26, no. 2: 421-446.
Purpose Well-founded measurements are of high value because a better connection between business process management (BPM) and maturity models (MMs) improves an organization’s performance. Although MMs are appropriate tools for organizations to manage their business processes and, therefore, enjoy popularity, most of these models suffer from their foundation, validation and/or capability coverage. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue by providing metrics to measure and manage business processes. Design/methodology/approach A high-standard and multistaged procedure was followed to systematically develop and validate the measurement instrument involving international academics and practitioners across four continents. Different rounds were used for item identification, item selection, item revision, instrument preparation (pretest and pilot) and instrument application using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The instrument measures 4 main capability areas, 13 subareas and 62 items. The work explains how to conduct BPM assessments in a more theoretically sound way and reports on the instrument’s development to show high levels of construct validity, content validity and reliability. Research limitations/implications The author provides a rigorous and more evidence-based instrument, facilitating the BPM discipline’s need of empirical research. Practical implications The author proposes parameters to configure the instrument. Originality/value Serving as a reference framework, the instrument strengthens BPM’s empirical and theoretical foundations. Since the instrument is free for scholars and practitioners, the author illustrates the research streams and business situations in which the instrument can be applied (in full or in part). This paper paves the way for transforming the instrument into an optimization MM with advice or improvement paths, bridging the gap between theory and practice.
Amy Van Looy. Capabilities for managing business processes: a measurement instrument. Business Process Management Journal 2019, 26, 287 -311.
AMA StyleAmy Van Looy. Capabilities for managing business processes: a measurement instrument. Business Process Management Journal. 2019; 26 (1):287-311.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAmy Van Looy. 2019. "Capabilities for managing business processes: a measurement instrument." Business Process Management Journal 26, no. 1: 287-311.
Green Business Process Management (BPM) focuses on the ecological impact of business processes. This article provides a systematic mapping study of Green BPM literature to evaluate five attributes of the Green BPM research area: (1) scope, (2) disciplines, (3) accountability, (4) researchers and (5) quality control. The results allow developing a research agenda to enhance Green BPM as an approach for environmentally sustainable organizations. We rely on a dichotomy of knowledge production to present research directives relevant for both academics and practitioners in order to help close a rigor-relevance gap. The involvement of both communities is crucial for Green BPM to advance as an applied, business-oriented discipline.
Dries Couckuyt; Amy Van Looy. Green BPM as a Business-Oriented Discipline: A Systematic Mapping Study and Research Agenda. Sustainability 2019, 11, 4200 .
AMA StyleDries Couckuyt, Amy Van Looy. Green BPM as a Business-Oriented Discipline: A Systematic Mapping Study and Research Agenda. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (15):4200.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDries Couckuyt; Amy Van Looy. 2019. "Green BPM as a Business-Oriented Discipline: A Systematic Mapping Study and Research Agenda." Sustainability 11, no. 15: 4200.
A successful implementation and adoption of Business Process Management (BPM) requires an alignment with other management areas in an organization, and specifically with practices related to Human Resource Management (HRM). While the BPM literature highlights the importance of aligning HRM appraisals and rewards to business processes, little is known about how organizations actually align these two areas in practice, and how they face the challenges of this alignment. For this purpose, we conducted ten explorative case studies to acquire empirical evidence and gain better insights on this issue. We uncovered four patterns of BPM-HRM alignment and determined their important components. This work discusses the critical factors that are important for a successful BPM-HRM alignment and provides recommendations for this alignment by differentiating between lower and higher levels of BPM maturity.
Aygun Shafagatova; Amy Van Looy. Understanding the Alignment of Employee Appraisals and Rewards with Business Processes. Transactions on Petri Nets and Other Models of Concurrency XV 2019, 386 -401.
AMA StyleAygun Shafagatova, Amy Van Looy. Understanding the Alignment of Employee Appraisals and Rewards with Business Processes. Transactions on Petri Nets and Other Models of Concurrency XV. 2019; ():386-401.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAygun Shafagatova; Amy Van Looy. 2019. "Understanding the Alignment of Employee Appraisals and Rewards with Business Processes." Transactions on Petri Nets and Other Models of Concurrency XV , no. : 386-401.
Purpose While much research exists on methods and tools to support business processes, little research exists on the interrelationship with cultural and structural aspects. The purpose of this paper is to explore the chronological sequence in which culture and structure are important, as evidenced in 13 non-profit organisations that are changing towards a process-oriented way of working. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a positivist case study methodology with pattern-matching to falsify or confirm three theoretical perspectives that claim to explain the phenomena of organisational structure and culture, and their impact on business processes. The competing perspectives are: process lifecycle theories, organisational design theories and cultural and motivational theories. Findings The case studies cover six scenarios based on a recurrent sequence of changes and perceived outcome. The (theoretical and empirical) relationships between business processes, a process-oriented culture and a process-oriented structure are then combined in a process capability success model. Research limitations/implications Although limited to the non-profit sector, the findings agree that the process lifecycle is insufficient. Cultural and motivational theories prevail over organisational design theories to explain and predict process success. Practical implications From the process capability success model, a roadmap for (un)successful business process management (BPM) is derived with best practices and advice on the sequence of process improvements. Originality/value While the relevance of culture and structure has been touched in research before, the aspect of chronological sequence and pattern-matching sheds new light on the topic. The case studies performed also help to evidence how important it is to believe in process-oriented developments for organisations that want to apply BPM.
Amy Van Looy; Jan Devos. A roadmap for (un)successful BPM: positivist case studies. Business Process Management Journal 2018, 25, 1164 -1190.
AMA StyleAmy Van Looy, Jan Devos. A roadmap for (un)successful BPM: positivist case studies. Business Process Management Journal. 2018; 25 (5):1164-1190.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAmy Van Looy; Jan Devos. 2018. "A roadmap for (un)successful BPM: positivist case studies." Business Process Management Journal 25, no. 5: 1164-1190.
Amy Van Looy. On the Synergies Between Business Process Management and Digital Innovation. Data Driven Approaches in Digital Education 2018, 359 -375.
AMA StyleAmy Van Looy. On the Synergies Between Business Process Management and Digital Innovation. Data Driven Approaches in Digital Education. 2018; ():359-375.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAmy Van Looy. 2018. "On the Synergies Between Business Process Management and Digital Innovation." Data Driven Approaches in Digital Education , no. : 359-375.
In this position paper we focus on the diversity of sustainability measurements. Based on existing research on performance measurement, we propose a preliminary classification framework summarizing sustainability models and indicators. By describing illustrative examples, we claim that several models and indicators can be distinguished with their own peculiarities. Having such a framework is interesting for both academia and business to structure the range of models and indicators and to ultimately select the appropriate sustainability measurement approach. The proposed framework should be validated by further research.
Dries Couckuyt; Amy Van Looy; Manu De Backer. Sustainability Performance Measurement. Business Process Management Workshops 2018, 520 -524.
AMA StyleDries Couckuyt, Amy Van Looy, Manu De Backer. Sustainability Performance Measurement. Business Process Management Workshops. 2018; ():520-524.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDries Couckuyt; Amy Van Looy; Manu De Backer. 2018. "Sustainability Performance Measurement." Business Process Management Workshops , no. : 520-524.
Situation faced: The case focuses on the digitization of service processes in the City of Ghent. Front-office e-services are integrated into the corporate website and into the back office thanks to digitization of the internal way of working in value chains. Before 2014, the City’s digital services were limited primarily to web forms offered by three departments for taxes, mobility and parking affairs, and citizens’ affairs in a non-integrated way, as the departments used different applications and a considerable amount of manual work in the back office. Other departments focused primarily on downloadable forms that were available on the corporate website. Customers could also create profiles for some services, resulting in multiple user names and passwords to be managed for the same customer. Because of this silo mentality, the digital investments did not pay off, and a more integrated approach was needed to make the digital service processes more efficient in terms of return on investment (ROI) and customer-oriented. Action taken: The City of Ghent formulated a digitization vision based on fifteen reusable building blocks, including that facilitate the use of an authentication platform, a single customer profile, a digital signature platform, and a service-oriented architecture. These building blocks guide projects that digitize the total value chains or business processes. To stimulate reuse, the building blocks were built as generic components or process activities that e-services typically contain (e.g., “create profile,” “pay electronically”). The generic components were first translated to the digitization of three pilot chains regarding taxes, environment-related subsidies, and citizens’ affairs. The pilots were chosen based on their having volunteered to participate and their opportunities to take advantage of digitization. Results achieved: Although the pilot for citizens’ affairs is still running, the results of the pilots for digital tax submissions and environment-related subsidies are already positively perceived. All environment-related subsidy requests are now digitally processed in the back office, with a digital alternative in place for the process steps of receiving and responding to the subsidy requests in the front office since 2015. The number of digital tax submissions increased to a third of all submissions in 2016, compared to only five percentage in 2014, while the number of input forms was cut in half in favor of prefilled tax proposals. Besides being generalized to apply to all services in the City of Ghent, the digitization approach with building blocks and building projects will also be applied in other business processes and future projects such as a participation platform or intranet, so it is not exclusive to e-services. The main idea is to develop once and then to reuse it maximally. Lessons learned: The case concludes with five lessons learned, from which other public and private organizations may benefit. First, from the perspective of reuse and inter-organizational collaboration, data about products or services should align semantically with external partners. The City of Ghent used linked open data for this purpose. Two lessons learned promote a pragmatic approach to achieving success by concretizing initial principles and temporary workarounds to achieve quick wins. The fourth lesson was the need for assistance by an internal support office or competence center. Finally, the demonstrated advantages arise from working with a single profile per customer, rather than working in silos.
Amy Van Looy; Sabine Rotthier. Kiss the Documents! How the City of Ghent Digitizes Its Service Processes. Management for Professionals 2017, 187 -204.
AMA StyleAmy Van Looy, Sabine Rotthier. Kiss the Documents! How the City of Ghent Digitizes Its Service Processes. Management for Professionals. 2017; ():187-204.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAmy Van Looy; Sabine Rotthier. 2017. "Kiss the Documents! How the City of Ghent Digitizes Its Service Processes." Management for Professionals , no. : 187-204.