Abstract:
Studies on the three types of process improvement programmes
(Continuous Improvement, Reengineering and Benchmarking) have appeared many
times in the literature. These studies suggest that certain organizational variables act
as enablers and their presence or absence can significantly influence success rates.
Such studies have tended to examine companies where a single programme has been
implemented. In contrast, this paper examines a sample of companies who-have
experienced all three programmes.Our aim is to compare and contrast each
programme's impact on firm performance and identify which organizational
variables are common and which are programme-specific enablers of success. We
build and test an integrative framework to support our analysis. Our study found
that: (1) Reengineering delivered the greatest impact on performance; (2) executive
commitment Was needed to make this happen; (3) strategic alignment was the major
influence on the success rate of Reengineering and Continuous Improvement
programmes; and (4) employee empowerment was necessary for each programme to
work effectively.
