On the Notion of Flexibility in Business Processes

Abstract

. Business process flexibility, while very much desired, bears a rather vague meaning. The paper aims at discussing the meaning of flexibility in business processes. The discussion applies concepts taken from two theoretical frameworks: the Generic Process Model (GPM) and the theory of coordination. Two forms of flexibility are discussed: Short-term flexibility, which is the ability to deviate temporarily from a standard way of working, and long-term flexibility, which is the ability to easily change the standard way of working. 1.