Process Innovation in the EU Public Sector Through the Lens of BPM Ambidexterity

Abstract

AbstractPublic sector organizations need to innovate their processes incrementally and radically to face political challenges. BPM ambidexterity, which is defined as the simultaneous pursuit of incremental and radical process innovation, provides a relevant lens to analyze this. Since there are only a few studies on ambidexterity in the public sector, we have conducted an embedded case study at an EU institution. We confirm that process characteristics, and the resulting culture and structure are critical enablers for the success of BPM initiatives. Departments with more mature practices for process optimization also turn out to be more open to radical process change. Moreover, temporal ambidexterity is the most common strategy to resolve the tension between incremental and radical innovation, while departments with a higher process orientation also show preference for contextual ambidexterity. We end with public sector guidelines on how to develop organizational capabilities in incremental and radical process innovation.KeywordsBusiness process managementOrganizational ambidexterityPublic sectorInnovation