Business process research: a cross‐disciplinary review

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of business processes (BPs) literature by identifying and discussing key BP‐related research themes and suggesting directions for future research.Design/methodology/approachLatent semantic analysis was used to analyze the abstracts of academic articles related to BP. Over 2,700 articles that use the term “business process (BP)” in their title, abstract or keywords were identified through electronic journals database EBSCOHost and examined.FindingsThe results clearly indicate growing interest in BP research during the past 20 years. The key research themes can be classified into core and associated BP research. Core BP research deals with four cornerstones of BP change: BP design, information technology, BP implementation, and ongoing BP management. The associated BP research lies on the intersection of BP and other research areas such as total quality management, supply chain management, e‐commerce, etc.Research limitations/implicationsThere is a need to focus future research efforts on understanding the inter‐relationships among the four identified cornerstones of BP change. There is also a need for more inter‐disciplinary BP research and integration of BP‐related organizational practices.Originality/valueThe review offers a cross‐disciplinary perspective on BP research. The proposed framework can be used to identify directions for future research and practice.