=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2045/Bilisim_paper_34
|storemode=property
|title= Is Sureclerinin Etkili Sayisallastirilmasi (Effective Digitalization of Business Processes)
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2045/26_Bilisim_2017_paper_34.pdf
|volume=Vol-2045
|authors=Evrim Oya Guner
}}
== Is Sureclerinin Etkili Sayisallastirilmasi (Effective Digitalization of Business Processes)==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2045/26_Bilisim_2017_paper_34.pdf
Effective Digitalization of Business Processes
Evrim Oya GÜNER
evguner@gmail.com
understanding of IT which cannot be entirely separated
ABSTRACT
Despite the vast research on digital technologies and from being digital. This extends to business processes
digitalization, little is known about the drivers, where digital technologies are the main components of
requirements, challenges and implications of business business operations. Characterized by the
process digitalization. The common understanding that homogenization of digital data, programmable digital
emerges from the literature is that investments in digital computing architecture, and self-referential nature [3],
technologies provide several benefits to firms. However, digital technologies reshape the conventional business
the drivers, requirements, challenges, and implications of processes into modular, distributed, cross-functional, and
business process digitalization still need to be explained. global ones [2].
Additionally, in todays globally networked business Although the scope of digital technologies is wide and
environment, process digitalization should be open to interpretation, sensors, radio frequency
investigated on a multi-firm setting. In order to identification (RFID)/near field communications (NFC),
investigate the process digitalization on a multifirm beacons, machine-to-machine communication (to
setting, an exploratory approach can be embraced and monitor machines and automate the production),
multiple case studies can be conducted for data robotics, 3D printing, drones, blockchain and
collection. Grounded theory can be used to analyse the cryptocurrencies, virtual and augmented reality, artificial
data collected through the case studies. intelligence, cognitive computing, machine and deep
learning are specified as digital technologies [4]. In
Keywords addition to these, some of the digital technologies
Business process, business process digitalization, associated with the digitalization of business process
digitalization, digital technologies. includes:
INTRODUCTION • Big data analytics tools and applications,
Digital technologies have been transforming the way • Mobile tools and applications,
firms work across the industries continuously. Due to the
features inherent in digital technologies, firms expect to • Digital platforms that enable digital capability sharing
increase their capabilities such as responsiveness, such as cloud computing solutions and app
innovativeness and competitiveness by digitalizing their marketplaces,
business processes and align with today’s rapidly • Social media tools and applications,
changing business environment.
• The Internet of Things, including connected devices
Studies show that advancements in information and “smart” networks [5].
technologies (IT) have been renovating the business
processes in a consistent manner. More than two decades There is a common view that investments in digital
ago, Davenport and Short [1] claimed that the technologies provide several benefits to firms. According
transformation of business processes into IT enabled to the Global Information Technoly Report [6], digital
processes was inevitable and IT capabilities had a technologies are pillars of winner-take-all dynamics in
significant role when redesigning the business processes. many industries, and early adopters have advantages
In the recent past, traditional business processes have over the followers. However, prior research also points
started to be considered as IT enabled business processes out that the value generated by digital technologies is
which are more information sensitive, customer-centric difficult to evaluate [7],[8].
and complex [2].
Viewed as digital technologies, the combination of
information, computing, communication, and
connectivity technologies [2] created a new
PROBLEM STATEMENT In previous literature, innovation is defined as “the
Despite this critical transformation with regard to creation and adoption of an idea, a product, a technology,
business processes, the literature provides relatively little or a program that is new to the adopting unit” and the
information about the digitalization process and does not innovations which enable the creation of new forms of
cover all stages- from the discovery to the implications digitalization is considered as “digital innovations” [3].
of business process digitalization. Insight into this aspect Since digitalization of business processes is realized
is important for improving our understanding of the through the adoption of digital technologies, it is
drivers and requirements of business process appropriate to evaluate digital technologies as digital
digitalization and how firms decide when they reason innovations and refer the DoI theory as theoretical
about possibility of digitalizing their business processes. foundation.
Furthermore, previous research is dominated by the
METHOD
studies identifying positive outcomes of business process
In order to investigate the drivers, requirements,
digitalization. The challenges that firms can face while
challenges and implications of business process
embracing digital technologies, requirements and
digitalization, case study method can be applied in
implications of business process digitalization are
different case sites. Case study is a method which allows
touched upon rarely and this field remains relatively
multiple ways of data collection including interviews,
unexplored.
observations, pre-recorded documents, and secondary
Considering the gains derived from business process data for investigating a phenomenon intensively within
digitalization such as increased collaboration and its natural setting in one or a few sites [11]. Within the
availability of qualified information, it can be inferred scope of the reserarch questions, the case study should be
that efffective business process digitalization also applied in more than one site to establish causality and
depends on and extends to the firms’ outer circle where generalize the findings from single case site to other case
the business relations are built and sustained. Therefore, sites. This strategy is called “multiple case design”
business process digitalization should be examined in the which includes replicating and comparing the analysis in
context of multiple firms where reciprocal effects are different case sites with the aim of improving the
addressed. Although the literature provides a number of generalizability [11].
studies on “IT-based cocreation of value” [7], this topic
The data collected through case studies can be analysed
needs to be discussed further within the framework of
using Strauss and Corbin’s [12] Grounded Theory
business process digitalization.
Analysis. Grounded Theory Analysis [12] serves well the
RESEARCH QUESTIONS purpose when the aim is to discover new insights about
As identified in the problem statement, knowledge on an existing phenomenon and the topic of interest has
business process digitalization is heavily based on the been relatively ignored in the literature or has been given
explanations of transformational effects and benefits of only superficial attention [13].
digital technologies. In general terms, the literature
focuses on the firms’ alignment with digitalized business
LITERATURE REVIEW
environments through the adoption of digital
technologies rather than explaining how this alignment In this section, it is aimed to provide a clear
understanding of business process digitalization by
will be accomplished in practise. Emerging from this
defining the concepts “business process”, “digital
context, there are research questions which need to be
technologies” and “digitalization”. The section also
answered are as follows:
provides the brief account of the existing knowledge in
1. What are the drivers, requirements, challenges and the fields of digital technologies and business process
implications of business process digitalization? digitalization.
2. Can multiple firms create business value collectively
Definition of Business Process
through digitalization of business processes?
One of the definitions of business process is “a set of
logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
business outcome” [1]. Accordingly, business processes
In order to constitute the theoretical foundation to
have two main characteristics. The first one is that they
investigate digitalization of business processes, Diffusion
have customers both internal and external to the firm;
of Innovation (DOI) Theory [9] can be used. DOI theory
and the second one is that they cross the boundaries of
is a theory of “how, why, and at what rate new ideas and
the firm [1].
technology spread through cultures, operating at the
individual and organisation level” [10] and emphasises
Digital Technologies
the characteristics of technological innovations (e.g.
As previously defined in this documents, digital
relative advantage, complexity, compatibility,
technologies are combinations of information,
observability, triability) along with the internal and
computing, connectivity and communication
external characteristics of organization as the influencers
technologies [2] which connect the products, processes
of technological innovation adoption.
and services; transform the businesses at both strategical business processes. Table 1 presents these studies
and operational levels [2], [14] according to the type of digital technoloy along with the
sector/business unit or the process that it transforms.
The transformative impact of digital technologies has
been addressed by researchers in different studies [2], Table 1. The use of different digital technologies in
[8]. According to [2], these technologies provide different sectors/business units or processes
dynamic capabilities for responding the changing Author, Year and Type of Digital Sector/
requirements of internal and external environment of the Name of the Study Technoloy Business Unit or
firm, reshape the business strategy into a form which is Investigated Process
time, distance and function independent and change the Chen, J., Yen, D., & Smartphone Logistics
Chen, K. (2009). The
social relations of the firm by means of virtual
acceptance and
networking. As a consequence, digital technologies give diffusion of the
rise to the new business models such as peer-to-peer innovative smart
networks, freemium, delivering outcomes (mainly driven phone use: A case
by Internet of Things), crowdfunding/crowdsourcing, as study of a delivery
service company in
a service, ecommerce/ marketplaces and personalization logistics.
[4]. Another transformative impact of digital Goebel, C., RFID Logistics/Supply
technologies can be traced at the marketed products and Tribowski, C., & Chain Management
services in which digital technology is embedded as an Gunther, O. (2009).
Adoption of cross-
expansion of digital transformation [2], [8]. company RFID: An
empirical analysis of
Digitalization perceived influence
Digitalization is defined by addressing its difference factors.
Elsenpeter, R. CAD/CAM Medical/Dentistry
from digitization as “by digitalization, we mean the (2016). New
transformation of socio-technical structures that were Technologies, New
previously mediated by non-digital artifacts or Materials, New
relationships into ones that are mediated by digitized Workflows
Ferretti, M., & IoT Maritime Logistics
artifacts and relationships. Digitalization goes beyond a
Schiavone, F. /Transposrtation
mere technical process of encoding diverse types of (2016). Internet of
analog information in digital format (i.e., “digitization”) Things and business
and involves organizing new socio-technical structures processes redesign in
seaports: The case of
with digitized artifacts as well as the changes in artifacts
Hamburg
themselves” [3]. Bechtsis, D., Smart Agriculture
Tsolakis, N., Distribution
From a business perspective, digitalization can be Vlachos, D., & Systems
defined as “the use of digital technologies to change a Iakovou, E. (2017). (Automated
business model and provide new revenue and value- Sustainable supply Guided Vehicle
producing opportunities; it is the process of moving to a chain management in Systems)
the digitalisation era:
digital business” [15], [16]. Based on this definition, The impact of
[16] indicates that digitalization improves the quality of Automated Guided
buying and selling decisions, increase the efficiency of Vehicles
production, transportation and customer relations in
business domains. In this sense, digitalization creates
On the other hand, there are studies related to digital
new channels where the information flows and
technology use in business which do not focus on a
communicates with both internal and external customers.
specific digital technology; rather, they focus on the
sector and the business unit that have been digitalized.
Prior Research on Digitalization of Business
Processes Table 2 presents these studies according to the
It is known that digitalization of business processes is a sector/business unit where the business process
topic of interest for both academia and industry. The digitalization is realized.
literature contains several studies related to business Finally, the last group as a sample from the literature
process digitalization which emphasize the significant composed of the studies that focus on the type of the
operational, strategical and organizational changes that digital technology (e.g. IoT and Enterprise Mobile
digital technologies create along with the benefits Applications) rather than the business unit/process that it
provided. At this point, it is important to note that the directly transforms into a digital business process. These
research on business process digitalization vary by the studies are presented in table 3.
type of digital technology in question since digitalization
can be realized through the adoption of different digital
technologies [14], [17]-[26]. Among these, there are
studies which focus on different digital technologies and
explain how these digital technologies transforms the
Table 2. The use of digital technologies in different reflect themselves while exploring the drivers and
sector/business unit or process requirements of business process digitalization. To be
Author, Year and Type of Sector/Business Unit more specific, the digitalized business processes drive
Name of the Study Digital or Process the firms to renovate the processes continuously. This
Technoloy renovation can be monitored in case sites until the
Investigated
cyclical trend is observed and maturation of findings of
Setia, P., Venkatesh, Not Specified Banking/Customer
V., and Joglekar, S. Service Unit the cases are approved.
(2013). Leveraging
Digital Technologies: Another significant contribution is to explain the effects
How Information and implications of business process digitalization in a
Quality Leads To multi-firm setting to create business value.
Localized Capabilities
And Customer Service The research questions described and proposed in this
Performance resarch are of the interest to researchers and practitioners
Li, F. (2015). Digital Not Specified Creative Industries (art, for at least two reasons. First, such a research can
Technologies and the music, fashion,etc.)
Changing Business provide insights from the practioners and present both
Models in Creative the advantages and disadvantages of the business process
Industries digitalization. Second, it would to the future research on
similar topics.
Table 3: The use of digital technologies in business
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[18] Goebel, C., Tribowski, C., & Gunther, O. (2009). Evrim Oya Güner had her Bachelors Degree from the
Adoption of cross-company RFID: An empirical analysis Department of Business Administration, Gazi
of perceived influence factors. ECIS 2009 Proceedings. University, Ankara, Turkey in 2005. After graduation,
Paper 72. http://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2009/72 she worked at private sector as Management Counselor.
[19] Giner, P., Cetina, C., Fons, J., & Pelechano, V. She had her Master’s Degree from the Department of
(2010). Developing Mobile Business Processes for the Computer and Sytem Sciences, Stocholm University,
Internet of Things. IEEE Pervasive Computing, 9(2), 18- Stockholm, Sweden in 2014. Her research interests cover
26. emerging technologies, digitalization, cloud computing,
IT Management and ICT in developing countries.