BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: EXPLORED AND FUTURE RESEARCH FIELDS

The main aims of this paper are to identify trends and main issues of research conducted on Business Process Management (BPM) in the public sector, and, to recognize the common insights of the research development on BPM in this area. Business Process Management is an approach dedicated to process-centric organizations and focused on analyzing, improving and controlling processes, with the objective of integrating people, processes, and technology. Although BPM is frequently applied and verified in the private sector, it is still uncommon in the public sector. Public administration institutions of today need to enhance effectiveness and to raise customer satisfaction. They are therefore turning to methods and techniques that have been used in the management of profit-based organizations. Effective process management not only reduces costs, but also translates into high quality of services provided to citizens, and the efficient use of resources, including information and communication systems supporting government operations. To assess the scope of practical application of BPM in the public sector we conducted the first (to the best of our knowledge) literature review in this area. Findings of our research confirms that the use of BPM in the public sector is undergoing a similar evolution that has taken place in the private sector. Improving internal structures and processes of public institutions have become dominant issues in the discussion of BPM. However, we recognized the growing importance of BPM use in the implementation of t-Government, which is focussed on a technology-driven change of business process with the main aim of delivering innovating services for citizens and radical organizational changes.