Business process re-engineering in the small firm: A case study

INFOR, Feb 1996 by Hale, Andrea J, Cragg, Paul B

Most re-engineering efforts are triggered by a crisis situation (Davidson 1993) or firms needing radical improvements to stay in the business. Companies that are less concerned about the health of their major processes are less likely to want to undertake the major upheaval that re-engineering causes. The implication of the literature is that the small firm will not encounter such crisis situations, and therefore have less need to reengineer their processes. Both Hammer and Champy appear to assume that applying the same principles to a small business as it grows and their structure and use of IT becomes inefficient, will prevent any need for redesign of their processes at any stage. This suggests that they will not be developing such material for the small firm any further. This assumption is questionable, as there is no evidence that the same principles are applicable to small and large organizations, nor whether the principles themselves are infallible. In addition, it would be necessary for a small firm to have the requisite knowledge to follow these principles as their business expands, which will not always be the case.

The literature tends to dismiss the possible significance of BPR for the small firm. However there appears to be a number of success factors which could be extended to the small firm environment. As it was not possible to include all potential factors in the investigation, the study focused in particular on the BPR methodology employed by one firm and compared this to the steps outlined by Davenport & Short (1990):

* The identification of critical processes within the small firm, as compared with the success of their BPR projects and Hall et al's measures of breadth and depth.

* The use of IT as a lever for reengineering, and the role played by IT in the project as a whole,

* The identification of a vision and objectives for the reengineering project, and the degree of planning for BPR conducted,

* The existence of executive commitment and organizational involvement, the initial motivation for reengineering, and the treatment of those directly affected by any major changes.

4. RESEARCH APPROACH

The purpose of the study was to investigate the applicability of BPR steps and principles to small firms. This was achieved through a case study of a small firm that claimed to have had experience with BPR. The study aimed to identify similarities and differences between the BPR approach of the small firm and the approach advocated for larger firms, as identified in the literature.

This study largely followed the research approach used by Grover, Teng & Fiedler (1993) in their development of a model of planning for BPR. Their approach was selected due to the similarly exploratory nature of the topic. In addition, their study is one of the few methodologically sound papers in the BPR literature, and one that has been independently validated. Finally, the case study approach was considered an acceptable form of research for such exploratory work, based on Eisenhardt (1989).