Buavaraporn, Nattapan
(2010)
Business process improvement methodology adoption for improving service quality: case studies of financial institutions in Thailand.
PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.
Abstract
To stay competitive and sustain long-term profitability, Business Process Improvement (BPI) methodologies have become strategically important for financial institutions in recent years. These include well-known approaches such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Business Process Reengineering (BPR), Six Sigma and Lean. The customer-focused themes of BPI should be of particular interest to service practitioners, in order to achieve both process excellence and superlative customer service. The adoption of BPI in the financial services sector, however, still appears to be at an early stage. There is limited empirical research reported in the academic literature. This research therefore explored the existing phenomena of BPI adoption through case studies, carried out in leading Thai financial institutions.
The study was carried out in three main phases, following a literature review of BPI and service quality issues, which provided the initial theory context. First, three case companies were investigated to find out how the financial institutions introduced BPI, and conducted BPI projects. The resulting insights helped to develop a theory model that aimed to provide understanding of the outcomes of BPI initiatives, in this context. The second research phase refined and validated the proposed theory model, aiming to elevate the conceptual level of the findings. The empirical data was analysed, by iterating between observed evidence and the literature, also using experts’ comments and suggestions. In the final phase, the key relationships in the evolving theory model were established and verified, employing further empirical evidence from revisiting the case studies, specifically focusing on four important areas of financial services. A final theory model was proposed, and in a further development aimed at practitioners, this model was used as the basis for a proposed BPI evaluation framework, taking account of current performance measurement approaches.
This research contributes to knowledge in the area of quality management, in particular to BPI methodology and service quality for the financial services sector, but potentially also in a broader context. The main contribution is the development of a theory model to explain how financial institutions adopt BPI methodology for improving service quality, providing a better understanding for managers in accurate targeting of the operations process to be improved, through BPI adoption. The model also provides a constructive foundation for further development of a practical BPI evaluation framework, at the project level. The proposed theory model is, therefore, considered a basis for further empirical work, both qualitative and quantitative, relating to the BPI in the services context.
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