Business process improvement in services: case studies of financial institutions in Thailand

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how financial institutions adopt business process improvement (BPI) for improving service quality, to enhance customer satisfaction. To explain this adoption, it was necessary to develop a theory to explain the linkages between BPI initiatives and customer satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – Case study was used as the research strategy, following the theory‐building process suggested by Eisenhardt. In total, three phases of data collection were employed, with expert interviews for theory enhancement and validation.Findings – The authors identified three main stages of BPI adoption. A theory model was developed and refined using the empirical findings, to provide understanding of the outcomes of BPI initiatives. This model is compared with existing service quality models.Research limitations/implications – The research outcomes represent an extension of existing service quality approaches, to consider the BPI adoption process as well as broader organ...

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