User participation in BPM implementation

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to contribute to the knowledge on how user participation can be effective to improve the quality of work of users when using information systems (IS) and information technology (IT). The focus of this research is from the perspective of the users and from a specific application of IS/IT, namely business process management (BPM) systems. The reason is that BPM systems intervene directly on the design of the workflow of employees and therefore to the activities conducted. Consequently, these systems can greatly affect the quality of work of the employees. The main research question is: How can user participation in BPM implementation be successful? To answer the research question a Structure-Agency model of User Participation Practice is developed which consists of two elements: the structure of user participation practice and the human agency during user participation. In this model it is assumed a relationship between user participation practice and BPM implementation success and that this relationship is influenced by management support and user attributes. The research question is answered in different case studies by a mixed method approach to test the associations between the different variables with quantitative data and to explore the underlying motives and mechanism with qualitative data. The research question is elaborated in three themes. In the first theme, the concept of implementation success in the practice of user participation was investigated. In the second theme the question of whether this relationship is influenced by managerial interventions was investigated. To answer this question the contribution of management to user participation was explored. The third theme of this dissertation addresses the question of how individual attributes of users influence the relationship between user participation practice and implementation success. Variations in these attributes may lead to different outcomes, especially where this is related to the quality of work as indicator of implementation success. The results of the different studies show that customizing and specifying user participation practices is of key importance for understanding the success of BPM implementation. Furthermore, it appears that management support and end-user training should be considered as important parts of the user participation practice. The creation by management of a beneficial implementation climate that favors innovation is crucial for implementation success. Realizing that the contribution of management to user participation always occurs in the context of multiple stakeholders, it was found that management support concerning awareness creation, end-user training and user participation were critical in relation to the multiple stakeholders’ vision sharing and alignment. The studies further show that the age of users has a significant moderating effect on the perceived quality of work and that user attitude variables have a significant moderating effect on implementation success. The results of the studies in this dissertation lead to an expanded structure-agency model of user participation practice, which provides multiple triggers for further research questions and for the elaboration of the theory of user participation. Practitioners can use the model to structure their efforts of user participation in BPM implementation.