CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: A STUDY OF SRI LANKAN FINANCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

As Sri Lankan financial services organizations increasingly undertake business process reengineering initiatives, implementation success has become a major concern. This study empirically validates factors imperative for success in implementing reengineering projects in the financial services industry of Sri Lanka. The research approach being of a deductive nature. A sample size of 384 and the population chosen constituted of persons employed in financial service organizations which had been through or were undergoing BPR related changes. Twelve organizations were selected for the purpose of data collection. An in-depth questionnaire was used for this purpose, with a response rate of approximately 67%. The findings list four critical success factors; top management involvement, strategic alignment, customer focus and effective change management along with three organisational perceptions of success, namely, effective processes, effective implementation technology, and conducive organizational attitude. Analysis of the results demonstrated the pivotal importance of top management involvement, effective change management, customer focus and strategic alignment in BPR implementation success. Top management involvement topping the list by having levels of significance of 0.29, 0.16 and 0.15 upon the relevant perceptions of success. Top management involvement in pivotal areas pinpointed include leadership,communication, commitment and provision of resources and capital funds. The findings suggest that reengineering implementation is complex, involving many factors. Finally, the study provides a framework from within which prospective practitioners of BPR can obtain necessary guidance. As one of the fi rst pieces of empirical evidence based on a fi eld study, in this arena, in Sri Lanka, this research emphasizes the importance of addressing BPR implementation with the inculcation of certain factors.

Keywords: Business Process Reengineering (BPR), Change Management, Strategic Alignment, Management, Projects.

For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk