The performance impact of business process standardization

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show if business process standardization (BPS) has an impact on business process performance and should be considered as both a valid business process management (BPM) measure and a regular driver of process success. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical analysis based on data from 156 firms is used to evaluate the hypothesis that process standardization positively impacts business process time, cost, and quality. Findings – First, the paper proposes a model and empirical operationalization to analyze the impact of process standardization on process performance. Second, empirical analysis shows that BPS has a decisive impact on process performance (R2=61.9 percent). Precisely, there is a significant impact on process time, cost, and most notably on quality. The results indicate that the impact is strongest in services firms and varies subject to a firm's strategy type. Practical implications – The results suggest that BPS should regularly be considered a prime action item and major tool in a firm's BPM toolbox. Originality/value – The paper is among the first to empirically show the vital impact of process standardization on performance. For academics and practitioners interested in BPM and the value impact of processes, the results suggest adding process standardization as a regular argument into research on and management of business processes.