The concept of process management in theory and practice - A qualitative analysis

Abstract

Today, process management is a well established management tool both in theory and in practice. Its objective is the increase of the efficiency and it is thus regarded as a fundament to both the economic development of the companies and of the economy as a whole. Examination of the literature reveals many theoretical concepts which in some aspects may differ considerably - even to the point of mutual contradiction. How does practice looks like? To answer this question, we wanted to carry out an empirically analysis of management practice focusing on general conditions, process modeling and execution, the IT and the employees. This will be compared with an examination of the theoretical concepts and we will try to elaborate the main concepts used in practice, which are finally presented in this full paper. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.