An Overlap of Knowledge Management and Business Process Management: a Systematic Literature Review
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Proceedings of IFKAD 2021: Managing Knowledge in Uncertain Times |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354389480_An_Overlap_of_Knowledge_Management_and_Business_Process_Management_a_Systematic_Literature_Review |
| Keywords | Knowledge Management; Business Process Management; overlap; review; knowledge-intensive business processes |
| Attached files | |
| Description | Although many authors (e.g., Seethamraju & Marjanovic, 2009; Antonucci, 2015; Kokkonen & Bandara, 2015; Antunes & Tate, 2019) recognize a vital role of knowledge in BPM, only a few articles study KM and BPM together. Due to the lack of attention to the topic in the existing literature, defining the scope of possible intersections between BPM and KM could bring an evolution in the research in both areas. To provide detailed grounds of the situation, we reviewed studies simultaneously focusing on KM and BPM. We used the systematic literature review method that consisted of three subsequent stages: literature search, analysis, and interpretation. The literature search goal was to form a sample of articles relevant to BPM and KM overlap. Articles simultaneously focusing on KM and BPM published in the BPM Journal and the Journal of KM were selected based on relevance to the research problem. A content analysis of selected papers was conducted to identify possible intersections between BPM and KM based on suggestions for further research and research gaps identified during the analysis. We identified themes that describe the research focusing on the overlap and connected them with concepts of BPM and KM. The analysis led to developing the framework of BPM and KM overlap and formulation of problems for further research. We found that the overlap is investigated through two main perspectives: knowledge-intensive business processes (kiBPs) and IS/ICT. The kiBPs perspective contains themes such as process-perspective knowledge mapping, KM processes and organizational learning influencing business process improvement, or process modeling influencing KM strategic alignment. The IS/ICT perspective contains themes such as Process KM systems or social BPM systems. The framework of BPM and KM overlap might be beneficial for business professionals as a guideline for selecting best practices that, once tailored to the organizational context, might increase BPM implementation efficiency and elevate BPM from the “information” level to the “knowledge” level, which will lead to the overall growth of business performance. |