Will Users of Process Management Systems Be More Innovative?: A Study on Process Innovation and Process Orientation in the Financial Industry

Process innovation – defined as the creation of new processes or the substantial improvement of existing processes – has become essential for the competitiveness of a firm [4]. However, many companies struggle with establishing a holistic process innovation approach, involving all their employees, who are the main resource for generating, championing and implementing process innovation ideas [1]. In our study, we analyze how BPM systems (BPMS) can help getting people engaged in process innovation. BPMS support activities of business process management (BPM) such as process modeling & documentation, process simulation, or workflow management. Will employees who are regularly using BPMS think and act in a more process-oriented manner and will they show more process innovation behavior? Applying the four-factor theory of work group innovation and using survey data, we show that employees who make regular use of a BPMS will exhibit a process-oriented attitude and thus contribute to process innovation. Thus, we contribute to the IS literature on understanding drivers for individual process innovation behavior and on the value contribution of knowledge-based IT systems for process innovation.