Information management in process‐based organizations: a case study at Xerox Ltd

Abstract

Abstract. The process‐oriented holistic enterprise is a new organizational form in which the business process may be perceived as the basic organizational construct. Process management on an enterprise‐wide scale implies a complex integration of business processes. The increased organizational complexity places heavy demands on a firm’s information management capability, and this needs to be managed in a way that best supports the process model. This research has found that in the case of Xerox Ltd, a company that has adopted a holistic approach to process management, the information management process is key to supporting this method of organizing. The main finding is that, in order to support process management, a particular type of information management is required. This includes a need for enterprise‐wide information systems and the centralization of systems development and maintenance. However, the process management is made possible by this type of information management. This may be referred to as the duality concept of information and process management. The research presents findings from an in‐depth participant observation study conducted at the Xerox Ltd headquarters in the UK, and also includes data collected from Xerox France and Xerox UK.