Application 1 – Analysis and Synthesis of Prior Research
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Theimpactofbusinessprocessmanagementandapplicanttrackingsystemsonrecruitingprocessperformance-anempiricalstudy.pdf
O R I G I N A L P A P E R
The impact of business process management and applicant tracking systems on recruiting process performance: an empirical study
Sven Laumer • Christian Maier • Andreas Eckhardt
Published online: 13 December 2014
� Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Abstract This research focuses on the effects of different business process management components in combination with information technology on recruiting
process performance. The results of a study of Germany’s largest 1,000 business
enterprises (response rate 13.1 %) reveal that business process analysis, business
process improvement and the usage of applicant tracking systems reduce recruiting
process costs. Specifically, the cycle time of the recruiting process can be shortened
significantly through business process controlling and process analysis, and by using
an applicant tracking system that supports the design and evaluation of key per-
formance indicators. Business process standardization combined with applicant
tracking systems and business process documentation as well these systems used
together with business process controlling have a significant positive impact on
stakeholder satisfaction with the recruiting process. The general quality of the
process can be improved through business process controlling as well as through a
combination of applicant tracking systems and business process controlling. Our
results reveal that several components of the business process management in
conjunction with a supporting applicant tracking system have differing impacts on
recruiting process performance. This paper discusses these diverse effects of
S. Laumer (&) � C. Maier Lehrstuhl für Wirtschaftsinformatik, insb. Informationssysteme in Dienstleistungsbereichen,
Centre of Human Resources Information Systems, Otto-Friedrich Universität Bamberg,
An der Weberei 5, 96047 Bamberg, Germany
e-mail: [email protected]
C. Maier
e-mail: [email protected]
A. Eckhardt
Institut für Wirtschaftsinformatik, Centre of Human Resources Information Systems,
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Grüneburgplatz 1, 60323 Frankfurt, Germany
e-mail: [email protected]
123
J Bus Econ (2015) 85:421–453
DOI 10.1007/s11573-014-0758-9
business process management on process performance and draws implications for
information systems success research.
Keywords Business process management � Recruiting � Process performance � Applicant tracking system � Human resources information systems � Information systems success
JEL Classification M12 � M15 � O30 � O31
1 Introduction
Business process management (BPM) enables companies to leverage the effective-
ness and efficiency of business processes and to gain competitive advantages (Hung
2006). BPM has been the subject of intense discussion in information system (IS)
research and by practitioners since the late 1980s and has been applied primarily in
the industry context focusing on customer-facing or operational processes (Lee
1998). The traditional focus of BPM is on primary business processes, whereas
BPM approaches focusing on secondary service processes are seldom the focus of
academic studies and are often neglected by managers in companies (Ulbrich 2006;
Kohlbacher 2010). For example, for the secondary support process of human
resources management (HRM), ‘‘no one seems to have developed a business process
model of the HRM business processes’’ (Cakar et al. 2003, p. 191), although
‘‘treating the HRM process as a support process providing critical support to the key
valued-add processes’’ (Cakar et al. 2003, p. 191).
Nonetheless, even HR departments, which have been the organizational business
units most averse towards information technology (IT) for decades, have been
increasingly implementing and using IS (Strohmeier 2009) especially in staff
recruitment for their daily business for some years now (Lee 2007; Eckhardt et al.
2012, 2014; Holm 2012; Wiblen et al. 2012). Moreover, strategic approaches in
managing these business processes have been implemented by companies to achieve
better process performance in terms of time, cost, quality, and satisfaction
(Münstermann et al. 2010a, b; Eckhardt et al. 2014). That is, recruiting departments
have also started to focus on BPM and IT support to improve the performance of the
recruiting process, just as operations departments have been doing with organiza-
tional core processes during the last decades. However, empirical studies
investigating the effects of implementing BPM and applicant tracking systems
(ATS) for the recruiting process are still rare.
Kohlbacher (2010) points out that it would be interesting to investigate which
BPM components have an effect on which outcome variables. Prior research has not
always explicitly differentiated between the deployment of various BPM compo-
nents and their effects on process performance. Such a differentiation would help
companies to implement the BPM components that most impact process perfor-
mance. Kohlbacher (2010) criticizes prior case study-based research of the effects of
BPM, pointing out that ‘‘case study reports do not always deliver exact information
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about the deployment of the individual [BPM] dimensions’’ (p. 14) and identifying
‘‘a clear lack of quantitative studies exploring the effects of [BPM]’’ (p. 14). This
research aims to partially fill this gap by studying the various effects of different
BPM components on recruiting process performance based on a representative
empirical study of the 1,000 largest business enterprises (herein referred to as
‘‘companies’’ in the general sense of the word) in Germany to provide more general
empirical results of the effects of BPM on process performance, as demanded by
Kohlbacher (2010). Hence, the research question of this research article focusing on
BPM in the recruiting context is:
What are the effects of different BPM components and IT on recruiting process performance?
In the following section, we introduce the concept of BPM and the recruiting
process in preparation for developing a research model of the impact of BPM and IT
on recruiting process performance in the section afterwards. The subsequent section
presents the methodology and the results of our survey and the results of our
research approach will be discussed in the concluding section of the paper.
2 Concepts
In this section, we will introduce BPM concepts and provide essential information
about the recruiting process.
2.1 Business process management
BPM focuses on business processes which are ‘‘a collection of interrelated events,
activities and decision points that involve a number of actors and objects, and that
collectively lead to an outcome that is of value to at least one customer’’. (Dumas
et al. 2013, p. 3). BPM ‘‘can generally be viewed as a collection of process
improvement efforts that differ in mission, scope, and approach’’ (Ho et al. 2009,
p. 2). It ‘‘relies on systems and documented procedures to ensure discipline,
consistency, and repeatability of quality performance’’ (Zairi 1997, p. 65). There are
many disparate views regarding BPM (Isaksson 2006; Palmberg 2009). Especially
with regard to the system level, the definitions used vary widely (Biazzo and
Bernardi 2003). In addition, scholars and practitioners make divergent recommen-
dations on BPM approaches and tools and do not give clear and consistent guidance
on how to deploy BPM (Palmberg 2009).
In general, BPM approaches start by identifying a company’s processes to
develop a process architecture. Based on this inventory of the company’s processes,
the core processes for improvement activities are identified (Dumas et al. 2013). The
core process owners and the BPM team document and analyze the processes,
identify performance problems, select an improvement strategy, and implement
changes to the process (Elzinga et al. 1995; Forsberg et al. 1999; Biazzo and
Bernardi 2003; Hung 2006; Houy et al. 2010). Thus, the processes are mapped to
derive as status quo process model (Dumas et al. 2013), which is analyzed for
weaknesses. Based on the weaknesses identified, the process is redesigned and a
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target process model is developed (Dumas et al. 2013). Finally, the redesigned
process is implemented following an executable process model (Dumas et al. 2013).
BPM also includes a continuous monitoring of process performance, assessment of
results, and continuous implementing improvements (Zairi 1997; Isaksson 2006;
Ulbrich 2006; Ungan 2006; Palmberg 2009; Münstermann et al. 2010a, b; Weske
2012). These performance insights can be used to restart the described BPM
lifecycle (Dumas et al. 2013). Hence, BPM is a set of tools and techniques for
improving processes and a method for integrating the entire company with a focus
on its processes (Harmon 2007; Rummler and Ramias 2010; Becker et al. 2011;
Röglinger and Kamprath 2012).
Consequently, BPM can be either defined as ‘‘a structured systematic approach to
analyze and continually improve the process’’ (Palmberg 2009, p. 204), which Houy
et al. (2011) refer to as ‘‘BPM in the large’’, or as ‘‘a holistic manner to manage all
aspects of the business and a valuable perspective in determining organizational
effectiveness’’ (Palmberg 2009, p. 204), which Houy et al. (2011) call ‘‘BPM in the
small’’. According to this distinction, ‘‘BPM in the small’’ concentrates on single
processes or scenarios, comprising a few isolated processes, while ‘‘BPM in the
large’’ focuses on handling complexity and dynamics throughout the entire
company or the whole BPM life cycle including collaborative modeling, config-
urable process models, and process mining. As we are investigating the effects of
implementing BPM components in only one particular process, the recruiting
process performance, we have adopted the definition of ‘‘BPM in the small’’
(Palmberg 2009; Houy et al. 2011) and the components used to implement ‘‘BPM in
the small’’. We thus define BPM in keeping with Dumas et al. (2013) as a body of
methods, techniques and tools to discover, analyze, redesign, execute and monitor
business processes.
2.2 Recruiting process
The recruiting process is widely considered one of the most time- and cost-
consuming human resources processes (Münstermann et al. 2010b). Companies
increasingly recognize the importance of and need for better coordination and
management of the numerous tasks in staff recruitment (Wiblen et al. 2010; Holm
2012). There is a particular need for process management in the recruiting process
because this process is anything but straightforward and has grown dramatically
more complex due to external developments (e.g., demographic change, global
talent shortage; Worth 2011), strategic renewals (e.g., a holistic talent management
approach; Ashton and Morton 2005), as well as technological innovation (Lee 2007;
Eckhardt and Laumer 2009; Laumer et al. 2009a, b, 2010a, b) over the last years.
Moreover, both actors in the recruiting process—recruiter and applicant—are highly
complex individuals (Laumer et al. 2009a, b, 2010a, 2012; Maier et al. 2013) who
act according to numerous different behavioral patterns that are hard to control for
(Laumer et al. 2010a; Holm 2012). Furthermore, applicants contact the hiring
company via several different media and apply for jobs using different forms of
application (Wiblen et al. 2012; Eckhardt et al. 2014). To respond to the needs of
these different groups of applicants, most companies need to develop significantly
424 S. Laumer et al.
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differing recruiting process forms to meet their overall staff recruitment needs. A
higher number of variants leads to higher overall process complexity and the strong
need of BPM for this secondary business process (Eckhardt et al. 2014).
Even within companies, recruiters do not act according to fixed standard patterns,
but rather often take an individual recruiting process approach (Holm 2012).
Recommendations and prior experiences of their workplace referents as well as their
individual attitude are all significant determinants for their particular behavior
(Eckhardt et al. 2009; Wiblen et al. 2010). The behavioral patterns vary widely,
ranging from completely standardized behavior supported by an underlying
applicant tracking system (ATS) to completely unstructured and frequently
changing behavior without a straightforward process (Lee 2007; Holm 2012).
Hence, the recruiting process is highly unstandardized even in many large
companies, which makes it particularly suitable for our research purpose.
In general, the recruiting process contains six steps (Lee 2007; Holm 2012). In
the first step, ‘‘employer branding’’ a company tries to develop a particular image
through marketing activities (Tumasjan et al. 2011). The company’s objective is to
project an image of itself that matches the applicant’s imagined ideal employer. In
the second step, ‘‘candidate attraction’’, companies try to fill their vacancies within a
short time frame (Wiblen et al. 2012). This typically includes posting job ads across
on- and offline channels (Baum and Kabst 2012). In the ‘‘applicant management’’
step, companies manage incoming applications and communications with appli-
cants. After the following ‘‘pre-selection’’ and ‘‘selection’’ steps, the recruiting
process ends with the final ‘‘hire’’ (Eckhardt and Laumer 2009). The overall
recruiting process is illustrated by Fig. 1.
Based on the definitions of BPM discussed above and the description of the
recruiting process as an example of a complex secondary business process, the
following section introduces our research model for investigating the impact of
BPM and applicant tracking systems on recruiting process performance.
3 Research model
In this section, after defining the dependent variable recruiting process performance,
we hypothesize the effects of BPM and IT on recruiting process performance,
develop the research model, and discuss each hypothesis of the entire model in turn.
3.1 Recruiting process performance
In general, BPM has a variety of potential benefits. For example, Hammer (2007,
p. 111) observes that ‘‘in virtually every industry, companies of all sizes have
achieved extraordinary improvements in cost, quality, speed, profitability, and other
Fig. 1 Recruiting process (Lee 2007; Holm 2012)
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key areas by focusing on, measuring, and redesigning their costumer-facing and
internal processes’’. Karimi et al. (2007) suggest defining business process
performance as process efficiency and effectiveness. In this context, Hirzel
(2008) names lower costs, shorter cycle time, greater customer satisfaction, and
higher quality as the main benefits companies can realize by making processes more
efficient and effective through BPM. Moreover, Schmelzer and Sesselmann (2003)
and others [see (Kohlbacher 2010) for an overview] report that BPM can yield
positive effects such as faster work speed, higher stakeholder satisfaction, higher
quality, lower costs, and better financial performance.
We consider Recruiting Process Performance as the dependent variable in our
research model, defined along the well-established dimensions of process cycle time,
process costs, process quality, and process stakeholder satisfaction (see Table 1).
The most common process dimension in staff recruitment is process time, which
is defined as the period of time between identifying and filling an open position
(Hirzel 2008). Process time is also widely known as time-to-hire. The cycle times of
single process steps include the time span between the identifying an open position
and posting a job ad, the time span between posting a job ad and receiving the first
applications, and the time spent on the internal applicant tracking process
(Münstermann et al. 2010a; Eckhardt and Laumer 2009).
The second most common performance dimension in recruiting is process cost,
which is defined as the aggregate cost incurred in hiring a new employee. The total
process cost in recruiting is sometimes referred to as cost-per-hire. Apart from total
process cost, several other costs for single process steps are traceable. For example,
companies frequently trace the cost of and calculate the cost advantage of online job ads
compared to offline job ads (e.g., in newspapers). Companies also estimate and trace the
cost structures for the internal applicant tracking process as well as the single cost for
every tracked application (Münstermann et al. 2010a; Eckhardt et al. 2012).
The third performance dimension in recruiting, process quality typically refers
both to the quality of the applicant as well as to how satisfied stakeholders are with
the newly hired candidate and with the entire recruiting process. To more clearly
distinguish these dimensions, we therefore distinguish between process quality and
Table 1 Recruiting process performance
Dimension Definition
Process time Reduced cycle time of the recruiting process, i.e. time-to-hire, the time to published
a job ad, and the time to interview is reduced and a hiring decision can be made
faster than in the past
Process cost Reduced cost of the recruiting process, i.e. lower cost for employer branding,
applicant attraction, candidate management, and selection. For example, the cost
per application, the cost per hire, and the cost of managing applications can be
reduced
Process quality Increased quality of the recruiting process in terms of overall quality of hired
candidates, increased quality of candidates, increased quality of applications and
information available to make a decision
Stakeholder
satisfaction
Increased satisfaction of recruiting process stakeholders like hiring managers, HR
managers, and candidates
426 S. Laumer et al.
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stakeholder satisfaction. Process quality can be understand as the number of desired
candidates successfully hired as well as the ratio of the quality of hired candidates
from 1 year to the next. A further indicator of process quality is an increase in the
quality of applicant data (e.g. the information provided in an application)
(Münstermann et al. 2010a; Eckhardt et al. 2012).
The final quality-related performance dimension is stakeholder satisfaction with
the overall recruiting process. Stakeholders include company employees, applicants,
operating departments, HR executives and top management (Hirzel 2008).
Based on these dimensions of recruiting process performance, the following
section discusses the impact of BPM and IT in the recruiting process in terms of
their potential to improveprocess time, reduced costs, and increased quality and
satisfaction.
3.2 Business process management as driver of recruiting process performance
The previous section introduced the distinct concepts of BPM and the recruiting
process and discussed the performance dimensions of the recruiting process. The
following section combines these different approaches and proposes several
hypotheses for the impact of BPM on recruiting process performance.
As discussed above, we adopt the definition of BPM as a ‘‘BPM in the small’’
concept, which allows us to propose a separate hypothesis of the impact on
recruiting process performance for each BPM component. In order to identify the
components of BPM that may impact recruiting process performance, it is first
important to understand and define the process, its key activities, and its architecture
(Houy et al. 2011). These activities correspond with the process identification and
discovery phase of the BPM lifecycle (Dumas et al. 2013). Identifying performance
measurements and targets used in analyzing the process to identify and implement
process improvement measures is another key activity of BPM on the operational
level (Palmberg 2009). This activity corresponds with the process analysis step of
the BPM lifecycle (Dumas et al. 2013). In order to redesign, further standardize,
better governor otherwise improve a business process, identified improvements have
to be implemented, which corresponds with the process redesign and implemen-
tation steps of the BPM lifecycle. Finally, the executable business process has to be
monitored and controlled to derive conformance and performance insights and
continuously improve BMP (Dumas et al. 2013).
Our conceptualization model of BPM is based on these definitions. Its
components are summarized in Table 2 and their individual effects on recruiting
process performance are discussed in detail below.
3.2.1 The impact of business process documentation on process performance
The first BPM dimension ‘‘business process documentation’’ reflects the charac-
teristic of BPM that all ‘‘major activities have to be properly mapped and
documented’’ (Zairi 1997, p. 65). This dimension is defined as ‘‘all documents
describing the business process including work flows, rules, data, as well as task and
decision responsibilities’’ (Beimborn and Joachim 2011, p. 341). Documentation is
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an important driver of recruiting process performance because it enables a company
to identify inefficient business processes by designing and analyzing business
process documents that serve as the foundation of optimization, change, and
standardization activities (Ungan 2006; Beimborn and Joachim 2011). Among
others, media disruptions can be identified and eliminated more easily while
documenting business processes, which reduces process cycle time. The process
discovery activities involved in business process documentation or modeling are an
important step in the BPM lifecycle and contribute to efficient and effective
business processes (Sharp and McDermott 2009; Dumas et al. 2013).
In the recruiting context, documentation is the basis for successfully designing
and performing the recruiting process. For example, documenting and defining
process steps is the basis for identifying successful recruiting channels, imple-
menting different channels for applicants to apply for a vacancy, defining the tasks
and the workflows of applicant management, and selecting candidates (Lee 2007).
Documenting the recruiting process formalizes the explicit and implicit knowledge
of process stakeholders (Ungan 2006; Dumas et al. 2013), making implicit
knowledge available to all stakeholders and improving process performance
(Dumas et al. 2013). When all HR managers have access to documented experiences
of different recruiting measures in all steps of the recruiting process, they are better
positioned to choose strategies and use different recruiting measures. For example,
companies are able to reduce process times when there is documentation on which
channels effectively attract potential and qualified candidates. When companies
focus solely on documented successful channels, the cost of using inefficient
channels can be reduced (Wiblen et al. 2012). Moreover, the process of
documenting the recruiting process enables the different stakeholders to discuss
the different process steps and to identify inefficiencies (Ungan 2006). When the
workflows of different tasks are well established and the different working routines
are documented, the coordination of different participants can be improved such that
Table 2 Business process management components
BPM dimension Description
BP documentation Business process documentation shows the relations between the activities,
personnel, information, and the objectives in a distinct workflow
BP analysis Business process controlling identifies performance measurements and
targets for controlling on the operational level which allow process
improvements to be identified and implemented
BP standardization Business process standardization includes a goal-directed homogenization
(e.g., reduction of process variants) and realization of economies of scale
for process bundling
BP governance Business process governance includes the ownership of a distinct process
to determine responsibility and leadership
BP controlling Business process controlling involves diagnosing and analyzing business
process execution
BP improvement Business process improvement targets the continuous enhancement of a
company’s distinct business process including its disciplined design and
careful execution
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the process will be performed at a faster pace (Holm 2012). Furthermore, when
companies document the required skills and capabilities of vacancies, the
application information quality can be improved (Wiblen et al. 2012). Based on
the documentation, a structure approach can be followed to collect the information
necessary to make a hiring decision. Hence, for each process step, documenting the
tasks and activities enables the process to be improved. Thorough documentation
and the resulting more focused recruiting process enable companies to achieve their
recruiting targets more quickly and cost-efficiently. Hence, we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 1a: The higher the degree of business process documentation, the better the performance of the recruiting process.
3.2.2 The impact of business process analysis on recruiting process performance
As ‘‘BPM relies on measurement activity to assess the performance of each
individual process’’ (van der Aalst et al. 2003, p. 1023) business process analysis is
also considered an important BPM component. It covers those ‘‘aspects neglected
by traditional workflow products (e.g., diagnosis, simulation, etc.)’’ (van der Aalst
et al. 2003, p. 1023). It involves analyzing existing business processes in order to
identify problems, inefficiencies, bottlenecks, or media disruptions (Dumas et al.
2013). The goal of business process analysis is to identify, document and whenever
possible quantify inefficiencies associated with the process. The output of this phase
is a structured collection of issues which have to be addressed in process redesign
activities (Dumas et al. 2013).
In the recruiting process, business process analysis increases process perfor-
mance by identifying inefficiencies in the company. Inefficiencies causing idle time
or delays (e.g., bottle-necks in terms of departments receiving a lot of applications
in a short period of time) increase the overall cycle time of the recruiting process
and ineffective resource allocation (e.g., low-yield personnel marketing channels)
increase the overall cost. Hence, analyzing the recruiting process to identify
bottlenecks or cost drivers will improve the performance of the recruiting process
and enable the company to attract better candidates through more focused efforts
and higher quality processes. Furthermore, the better the recruiting process is
analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, the more transparent it will be for external
and internal stakeholder groups, which in turn increases their satisfaction. Thus, we
hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 1b: The higher the degree of business process analysis, the better the performance of the recruiting process.
3.2.3 The impact of business process standardization on recruiting process
performance
Business process standardization is one aspect of process redesign in the BPM
lifecycle (Dumas et al. 2013) which defined by Shaw et al. (2007) as summarized by
Münstermann et al. (2010a, p. 31) ‘‘a means to change business processes from
where they are to a standard business process’’ The objective of business process
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standardization is ‘‘to make process activities transparent and achieve uniformity of
process activities across the value chain and across firm boundaries’’ (Wüllenweber
et al. 2008, p. 213). For this paper, we follow Münstermann et al.’s (2010a, p. 31)
definition of business process standardization as the ‘‘unification of variants of a
given business process by aligning the variants against an archetype process’’.
In the recruiting process, this means that standardization contributes to better
recruiting process performance as HR employees can perform or operate a
standardized recruiting process easier than a non-standardized one due to reduced
overall process complexity and uncertainty (Lillrank and Liukko 2004; Münster-
mann et al. 2010a). Hence, standardizing recruiting reduces the cycle-time of the
recruiting process. Moreover, process standardization reduces recruiting process
costs by increasing operational efficiency and performance (Münstermann et al.
2010a). For example, Wüllenweber et al. (2008) observe that ‘‘decreasing process
errors, facilitating communication, or just profiting from expert knowledge’’ are
determinants of reduced process costs while standardizing recruiting processes. In
addition, another positive effect of process standardization on business process
quality is assumed as process standardization leads to operational excellence and
improved operational performance, which then directly leads to higher business
process quality (Münstermann et al. 2010a) and stakeholder satisfaction. Further-
more, subsidiaries and parent companies can mutually benefit each other’s
experience to improve the different steps of the recruiting process continuously.
Therefore, we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 1c: The higher the degree of business process standardization, the better the performance of the recruiting process.
3.2.4 The impact of business process governance on process performance
Business process governance as another aspect of designing efficient and effective
business processes (Dumas et al. 2013) refers to the ‘‘direction, coordination, and
control of individuals, groups, or companies that are at least to some extent
autonomous’’ (Markus and Jacobson 2010, p. 201) and ‘‘is necessary for the success
of business processes’’ (Markus and Jacobson 2010, p. 201). For example, in human
resource management processes, multiple organizational functions are involved
such that the success of the recruiting process requires considerable lateral
coordination across units, however it cannot easily be disentangled from the
management of the people, functions, and companies that perform the activities
making up the recruiting process (Markus and Jacobson 2010). If business process
governance components are implemented and conducted to manage different people
involved in the recruiting process, the cycle time of the process can be reduced as
defined coordination reduces the uncertainty for recruiters of working with people
from different operating departments (Braganza and Lambert 2000; Palmberg
2009). So we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 1d: The more transparent and structured the business process governance, the better the performance of the recruiting process.
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3.2.5 The impact of business process controlling on recruiting process performance
Besides the analysis of business processes, identifying performance measurements
and targets to control the process is a key activity of BPM on the operational level
(Dumas et al. 2013). This allows process improvements to be identified and
implemented continuously (Palmberg 2009). Business process controlling is an
ongoing activity that relies on standardized and defined measures to ‘‘continually
monitor performance, assess results, and look for improvement opportunities’’ (Lee
1998, p. 218).In other words, business process analysis is a BPM component used to
analyze the quantitative and monetary effects of the process to derive measures for
process improvement.
We expect that companies controlling their recruiting process accurately and
continuously using performance measures and key performance indicators have
higher recruiting process performance. Such key performance indicators include
‘‘talent-on-time’’, ‘‘brand strength’’, ‘‘offer acceptance’’ and ‘‘quality of new hires’’
(Eckhardt et al. 2012). In the candidate attraction phase, the number of the job ad
page visits and the number of online applications filled out completely by applicants
can be monitored. This helps the company to calculate the average number of views
needed per filled-out application for each media channel. Moreover, indicators can
be established to control for what media channels candidates are attracted to and
how many applications are submitted (Lee 2007; Holm 2012).
In business process controlling, it is important to track the time of each process
step in order to identify process inefficiencies. Therefore, the time-to-hire can be
split into granular single process steps to create transparency in terms of overall and
individual process step time. Cost transparency is another important issue.
Companies might gather information on the cost of open positions not filled as
well as on the cost of each individual process step. To further improve the recruiting
process, companies might also evaluate the candidate experience at individual
process steps. During the recruiting process a companies might also ask candidates
for reasons why they rejected a contract offer as a basis for making changes to
increase future applicants’ general satisfaction with the recruiting process as well as
to decrease process cost as fewer candidates turn down offers after or during the
recruiting process. This avoids or reduces sunk costs for unsuccessful hires. For this
reason, we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 1e: The higher the degree of business process controlling, the better the performance of the recruiting process.
3.2.6 The impact of business process improvement on process performance
The final dimension of BPM, business process improvement, refers to a ‘‘structured
approach to performance improvement that centers on the disciplined design and
careful execution of a company’s end to-end business process’’ [(Hammer 2002), as
cited by (Siha and Saad 2008, p. 779)] and also impacts business process
performance. Business process improvement focuses on measures like six sigma
(Siha and Saad 2008) that enable a continuously improvement of a business process
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(Rohleder and Silver 1997; Niehaves et al. 2012). If a company is able to implement
a structured approach for continuously improving its business processes the
performance of its processes will increase (Adesola and Baines 2005).
If a company has implemented an environment and measures to frequently or,
ideally, continuously optimize the recruiting process by focusing on process
inefficiencies, the recruiting process performance can be improved in terms of
reduced cycle time, reduced costs, increased quality and increased stakeholder
satisfaction. Hence, we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 1f: The more frequent business process improvement measures are conducted, the better the performance of the recruiting process.
3.3 Applicant tracking systems as a driver of recruiting process performance
While the previous section focuses on the components of BPM, this section deals
with the related IT, such as an integrated applicant tracking system. An applicant
tracking system (ATS) is an IS designed to support each task of the recruiting
process (Lee 2007; Eckhardt et al. 2014). The concept of an ATS architecture for
recruiting were first proposed by Palvia et al. (1992), while adopting a process-
focused perspective in applicant tracking systems was proposed by Lee (2007). The
ATS provides integrated IT support for the recruiting process by embedding all
recruiting tasks into a single system. It supports the entire recruiting process from
the identification of a vacancy to the on boarding of the hired candidate, providing a
common data base for all process steps and facilitating the management of the
recruiting process without any media disruption (Eckhardt et al. 2012). When a
vacancy occurs, the hiring manager initiates the recruiting process using an interface
provided by the applicant tracking system. The personnel requisition is forwarded to
the HR department and submitted to the budget responsible for approval. After
approval, the HR department and the hiring manager define the required skills and
capabilities for the open position and design a job description, which is stored in a
central database and can be used for further similar vacancies. Afterwards, the ATS
creates a job advertisement which can by published on the corporate career website
as well as on print and electronic job boards (Grund 2006; Froese and Peltokorpi
2011). Hiring and HR managers are able to determine the promotion-mix for the job
advertisement using a central repository of different job boards conditions (Baum
and Kabst 2012). Furthermore, the system should support the direct search for
potential candidates in applicable databases or talent pools. In the third step of the
recruiting process, an ATS should offer several interfaces for receiving and
managing incoming applications (Laumer et al. 2010a). Moreover, the system can
provide functionality that support the pre-selection and selection steps (Laumer
et al. 2009a, b, 2012). The system facilitates cooperation between the hiring and the
HR manager in order to select the most appropriate candidate for the open position.
An ideal architecture of an ATS supporting the recruiting process is illustrated by
Fig. 2.
The model ideal architecture of an ATS indicates that implementing IT to support
the recruiting process might help streamline and structure the process to improve
432 S. Laumer et al.
123
recruiting process performance. For example, when the workflow is managed
electronically and the responsible managers are automatically reminded to complete
tasks, the cycle time of the process can be improved as tasks are completed quicker
and idle time can be reduced. Although the implementation of an ATS requires
financial investment, it can also reduce process costs (Eckhardt et al. 2012). For
example, negotiating a central contract with a global internet job board can reduce
technical complexity (e.g. only one interface to an external service provider) and
lower the cost of managing systems and processes. Furthermore, using standardized
online application portfolios (e.g. Strohmeier 2010) can reduce the costs of
managing the selection steps of the recruiting process. Unlike email and paper-
based applications, standardized application portfolios can be processed without any
media disruption, allowing fewer employees to handle more applications more
easily and automating the pre-selection process (e.g. Laumer et al. 2009a, b). Hence,
a company might save personnel costs by implementing an ATS as well. In terms of
quality, an IT-based approach for managing and storing all information related to
the recruiting process also increases the overall quality of the data used in the
process. If the ATS provides strong support for the different tasks of hiring
managers, HR managers, and candidates, their satisfaction with the process could
increase. Hence, we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 2: Using an applicant tracking system has a positive impact on the performance of the recruiting process.
Fig. 2 Applicant tracking system and recruiting process (Eckhardt et al. 2012)
The impact of business process management 433
123
3.4 The joint impact of business process management and information
technology on recruiting process performance
Based on the proposed hypotheses, our model so far considers the independent
influence of BPM and IT on recruiting process performance. However, there is also
a combined impact of both concepts implemented in a company stemming from
complementarities between the implemented components of BPM and the
underlying ATS (Münstermann et al. 2009; Beimborn and Joachim 2011).
For example, process standardization as part of BPM might be a necessary
precondition for implementing integrated applicant tracking systems to support a
recruiting process free of media disruptions. An ATS relies on the documentation
and standardization of the recruiting process to support the workflow management
of the different defined process steps and hence internal process standards (Lee
2007). At the same time, the company might also need to implement external
process standards in order to fully leverage the applicant tracking systems (e.g.
process flow implemented in the ATS). Hence, business process standardization is
an example of a BPM component that might be induced by technology
implementation but might also be a precondition for implementing an ATS
successfully. Hence, the full impact of BPM and IT on recruiting process
performance might only be realized in combination. Hence, we further propose a
third hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3: The joint use of BPM and IT has a combined positive impact on the performance of the recruiting process.
The research model based on the three proposed hypotheses is illustrated by
Figs. 3, 4. In the section below, the hypotheses will be evaluated by a representative
study of Germany’s 1,000 largest companies.
4 Empirical evidence
We have evaluated our research model as proposed in the previous section with a
representative empirical study focusing on the Germany’s top 1,000 companies.
This section describes the research methodology and the survey instrument used,
and presents the results of a model validated using linear regression analysis.
4.1 Research methodology
To validate the research model, we conducted an empirical study in 2012 of
Germany’s top 1,000 companies by reported revenue, based on Hoppenstedt’s
database. The identified companies were contacted by telephone in order to identify
the responsible manager of the recruiting process. If the recruiting manager agreed
to participate in our study, a survey was sent to the company either by e-mail or by
postal mail. A link to the survey was also provided so that the recruiting manager
could participate in the survey via a website. The survey responses were entered into
the statistic software SPSS and the research model was validated through linear
434 S. Laumer et al.
123
Fig. 3 Research model
Fig. 4 Benefits of BPM and ATS implementation (Laumer et al. 2014)
The impact of business process management 435
123
regression analysis using SPSS 20. In total, 131 companies participated in our study
(response rate 13.1 %). Table 3 illustrates the reported revenue, number of
employees and the industry sector of the participating companies. We conducted
a test of whether the 131 companies participating were statistically representative of
Germany’s top 1,000 companies. The significance level of the conducted Chi-
quadrat-test (Mantel 1963) was above the recommended level of 0.050 for the three
main criteria revenue (p = 0.458), number of employees (p = 0.469), and industry
sector (p = 0.237). Consequently, the null hypothesis that the distribution of our
sample statistically represents the population of Germany’s top 1,000 companies
cannot be rejected (Mantel 1963). Hence, the results based on the returned surveys
of the 131 participating companies can be considered representative of the results
for Germany’s top 1,000 companies.
4.2 Measures
Based on prior BPM (Beimborn and Joachim 2011) and recruiting process
performance studies (Münstermann et al. 2010a, b), we developed a survey
instrument to capture the degree of BPM and IT usage as well as statements about
the respective recruiting process performance.
Based on Beimborn and Joachim (2011), we used two items for business process
documentation focusing on the degree of documenting the process steps of the
recruiting process as well as the availability of these documents in a central
repository. For business process standardization, two items were used based on
Wüllenweber et al. (2008) and Münstermann et al. (2010a) capturing the degree of
establishing highly standardized working routines in the recruiting process.
Moreover, business process analysis was measured using two items based on
Beimborn and Joachim (2011). These items focus on the degree of quantitatively
and monetarily analyzing the recruiting process. In addition, two items were
designed based on the quality control items of Beimborn and Joachim (2011) for
business process controlling. These items focus on the definition of key performance
indicators and the corresponding methods to measure these indicators. Business
process governance was measured according the underlying work by Markus and
Jacobson (2010). The items were transferred to the recruiting context to fit in our
approach. The items for business process improvement were adapted from the work
of Adesola et al. (2005) and Siha et al. (2008). To measure the use and ownership of
an integrated ATS we took the items by Eckhardt et al. (2012). Finally, recruiting
process performance in terms of time, cost, quality, and stakeholder satisfaction was
measured according Münstermann et al. (2010a) as well as Hirzel (2008). All
measurement items were captured using a 7-point Likert scale ranging from
‘‘strongly disagree’’ to ‘‘strongly agree’’.
4.3 Pre-study and content validity
In setting up the questionnaire, the aim was to refer to methods of measurement
which had already been used in empirical research, as described above. The items
were tested in a two-step process. After a first test with students in the information
436 S. Laumer et al.
123
T a b le
3 C
h a ra
c te
ri st
ic s
o f
sa m
p le
c o m
p a n ie
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s
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% )
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% )
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% )
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% )
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6 .8
A g ri
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a n d
fo re
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0 .3
0 .8
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6 0
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2 .7
9 .2
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4 0
0 9
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.3 M
a n
u fa
c tu
ri n
g 3
6 .6
4 1
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6 0
1 to
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0 .4
9 .9
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1 to
8 0
0 8
.2 6
.8 E
n e rg
y 7
.3 8
.4
7 0
1 to
8 0
0 8
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0 1
to 1
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.6 B
u il
d in
g 1
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.3 C
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ty 0
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6 .7
6 .9
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se rv
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t- te
st 0 .4
6 9
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q u a d ra
t- te
st 0 .2
3 7
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q u
a d ra
t- te
st 0
.4 5 8
The impact of business process management 437
123
systems department of our university, the questionnaire was refined based on
interviews with HR professionals in one company to ensure content validity. For
this purpose, a company was chosen that has implemented both different
components of BPM and an ATS (see Laumer et al. 2014 for an extended
description of the case study). The company has followed a BPM approach
including business process documentation, standardization, analysis, controlling,
governance, and improvement, and adopted an ATS in 2009. This ensured that the
responsible managers were able to discuss different BPM components as well as
their impact on recruiting process performance in order to ensure the validity of our
measurement model (Laumer et al. 2014).
In general, the implementation of the ATS as well as the different components of
BPM have led to several improvements and value contributions for this company.
The company was able to reduce their total cost in staff recruitment by fifty percent
between 2007 and 2010. Especially the cost for job postings and the cost per hire
could be reduced, as depicted in Fig. 4 (top) (Laumer et al. 2014). Furthermore, the
joint BPM and ATS helped the company realize value potential in personnel
marketing. The number of visitors to the career website and the impressions per job
ad increased significantly (see Fig. 4 bottom). Based on the key performance
indicators set in the process controlling, the company found out that adjustments in
the personnel marketing strategy (e.g., reduced number of offline job ads and
increased use of online job boards) led to more visitors on the career website and
more impressions per job ad (Laumer et al. 2014).
We discussed our questionnaire and our research model with the responsible
managers in this company to ensure content validity of the measurement items used.
After the responsible manager provided a general description of their own project,
we described our hypotheses and the corresponding measurement items. Based on
his comments, we adjusted the wording of some items to better meet the BPM
notation in the recruiting context. These adjusted measurement items are listed in
Table 4 above and were used in our study with Germany’s top 1,000 companies as
described above.
4.4 Research results
This section provides statistics illustrating the reliability of our measurement
instrument used and the results of our hypothesis testing.
4.4.1 Measurement instrument reliability and validity
To ensure the reliability and validity of the measurement instrument issued, we
conducted several tests. First, indicator reliability is confirmed as the factor loading
tests reveals that all but two items are above the recommend threshold of 0.7
(Hulland 1999), and these two items are still higher than the 0.6 threshold
recommended by Bagozzi and Yi (1988). Further, construct reliability was
operationalized by calculating Cronbach’s Alpha, which exceed the value of 0.7
recommended by Hair et al. (2010) indicating sufficient construct reliability (see
Table 5).
438 S. Laumer et al.
123
Table 4 Measurement model
Dimension Items
BP documentation (Beimborn
and Joachim 2011)
We have documented almost all process steps of our recruiting
process
A documentation of our recruiting process is available in a central
repository
BPstandardization (Wüllenweber
et al. 2008, 2010a, b)
We have established highly standardized procedures in our
recruiting process
We have realized a high degree of standardization of all steps in
our recruiting process
BP analysis (Beimborn and
Joachim 2011)
Our recruiting process has been quantitatively analyzed (process
time)
Our recruiting process has been monetarily analyzed (process
costs)
BP controlling (Beimbornand
Joachim 2011)
We have defined key performance indicators of our recruiting
process
We have defined methods to measure the key performance
indicators of our recruiting process
BP governance (Markus and
Jacobson 2010)
We have appointed a process owner of the recruiting process
We have established clear responsibilities of all process
stakeholders
BP improvement (Adesolaand
Baines 2005; Siha and Saad
2008)
We have implemented measures to continuously improve our
recruiting process
We have established routines to continuously improve our
recruiting process
Applicant tracking system (ATS)
(Eckhardt et al. 2012)
Our recruiting process is completely supported by a single
enterprise system (e.g. applicant tracking system)
All process steps of our recruiting process are integrated by a single
applicant tracking system
Cost (Münstermann et al.
2010a, b)
We have been able to reduce the total costs of the recruiting
process in recent years
We have been able to reduce the costs for the internal applicant
tracking in recent years
We have been able to reduce the costs per tracked application in
recent years
Time (Münstermann et al.
2010a, b)
We have reduced the time between identifying a vacancy and
filling it in recent years
We have reduced the time between posting a job ad and making the
final hiring decision in recent years
We have reduced the time between identifying a vacancy and
holding the first job interviews in recent years
Quality (Münstermann et al.
2010a, b)
We have been able to enhance the overall applicant quality in
recent years
We have been able to enhance the quality of applicant data in
recent years
We have been able to enhance the overall quality of the recruiting
process in recent years
The impact of business process management 439
123
To ensure convergent and discriminant validity, a confirmatory factor analysis
was conducted. This analysis shows that for the seven independent and the four
dependent variables each item was assigned to its respective variable.
To reduce the problem of multicollinearity between the predictor and the
impendent variables, we standardized the predictor variables (Cohen 1988; Chin
et al. 2003) and calculated that the VIF-values were below the threshold of 3.33
(Diamantopoulos and Siguaw 2006). We also tested the potential impact of common
method variance using the Harman Single Factor test, which resulted in a first
component variance of 0.36, such that no sign of CMB could be observed
(Podsakoff et al. 2003). Hence, these tests indicates a good reliability and validity of
the measurement model used.
In addition to the measurement model validation Table 6 provides an overview
of the mean, standard derivation, and the correlation between the BPM components,
the usage of an ATS and the dimensions of recruiting process performance.
4.4.2 Hypotheses testing
In order to test for the proposed influence of BPM, IT, and the joint impact of both
concepts, we performed three linear regression analyses to test our hypotheses in
three steps. In the first step, the variables modeling the degree of BPM were
integrated into the model. Next, the variable reflecting the usage of applicant
tracking systems was integrated into each separate model. Finally, the interaction
terms were entered to each regression analysis. Table 7 below summarizes the
results of the three linear regression analyses for each performance dimension,
which are discussed in the following, italicized the results of the effects that are
significant as recommended by Kohlbacher (2010).
For the first dimension, the results of the first linear regression model based on
the representative study of 131 German companies illustrate that business process
analysis and business process improvement have a significant positive impact on
reduced costs of the recruiting process. Moreover, the second linear regression
model illustrates that the usage of applicant tracking systems also has a positive
significant impact on the cost of the recruiting process. These results are confirmed
Table 4 continued
Dimension Items
Satisfaction (Hirzel 2008) The operating departments are very satisfied with our recruiting
process
Our HR managers are very satisfied with our recruiting process
Our applicants are very satisfied with our recruiting process
Our managing directors are very satisfied with our recruiting
process
7-point Likert scale ranging from ‘‘strongly disagree’’ to ‘‘strongly agree’’ were used (1 = strongly
disagree, 7 = strongly agree); ‘‘We’’ and ‘‘our’’ refers to the recruiting department of the respective
company; ‘‘Recent years’’ refers to a time period of 5 years as indicated in the introductory sentence in
the questionnaire
440 S. Laumer et al.
123
by the third linear regression model including the interaction terms. For process
costs, no significant effect of an interaction of applicant tracking systems and BPM
can be observed.
For the quality dimension, the results of the linear regression model show that
business process controlling has a positive significant impact on the quality of the
recruiting process. This effect is also confirmed by the second and third linear
regression model. Although using applicant tracking systems does not have a direct
effect on the quality of the recruiting process, the third linear regression model
reveals a significant positive interaction effect of using applicant tracking systems
and business process controlling. In other words, even though applicant tracking
systems alone do not improve the recruiting process, using applicant tracking
systems and business process controlling in combination leads to higher
Table 5 Measurement model reliability
Loadings Cronbach’s alpha
Independent variables
BP documentation 0.891 0.84
0.753
BP standardization 0.638 0.91
0.724
BP governance 0.902 0.92
0.891
BP controlling 0.925 0.96
0.917
BP improvement 0.732 0.85
0.844
BP analysis 0.627 0.85
0.708
ATS 0.877 0.94
0.949
Dependent variables
Cost 0.752 0.87
0.902
0.851
Time 0.854 0.90
0.831
0.841
Quality 0.645 0.72
0.880
0.771
Satisfaction 0.771 0.90
0.886
0.837
0.851
The impact of business process management 441
123
T a b le
6 D
e sc
ri p ti
v e
st a ti
st ic
s a n d
c o rr
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ti o n
a n a ly
si s
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442 S. Laumer et al.
123
T a b le
7 R
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n s
- 0
.1 0
6 n s
B P
im p
ro v e m
e n t
0 .2 9 1 *
0 .1
4 8
n s
0 .0
8 3
n s
0 .0
4 4
n s
A p
p li
c a n
t tr
a c k
in g
sy st
e m
(A T
S )
0 .2 9 1 *
* *
0 .0
2 4
n s
0 .0
0 4
n s
- 0
.0 5
1 n s
The impact of business process management 443
123
T a b le
7 c o
n ti
n u
e d
R e se
a rc
h re
su lt
s R
e d u c e d
c o st
In c re
a se
d q u a li
ty In
c re
a se
d sa
ti sf
a c ti
o n
R e d u c e d
ti m
e
B e ta
R 2
D R
2 B
e ta
R 2
D R
2 B
e ta
R 2
D R
2 B
e ta
R 2
D R
2
B P
M 9
A T
S
B P
d o
c u
m e n
ta ti
o n
- 0
.0 3 7
n s
0 .2
5 4
0 .0
3 3
* *
* 0
.0 7 3
n s
0 .2
5 2
0 .0
5 1
* *
* -
0 .1
1 0
n s
0 .3
1 9
0 .0
9 4
* *
* -
0 .2
9 3
n s
0 .3
0 1
0 .0
4 8
* *
*
B P
st a n d a rd
iz a ti
o n
- 0
.0 0 6
n s
- 0
.1 3 0
n s
0 .2 9 0 *
0 .0
8 8
n s
B P
a n
a ly
si s
0 .4 4 9 *
* 0
.1 1 4
n s
0 .1
8 0
n s
0 .3 9 6 *
*
B P
c o
n tr
o ll
in g
- 0
.1 1 1
n s
0 .2
2 9
n s
- 0
.0 0 9
n s
0 .3 6 7 *
*
B P
g o
v e rn
a n
c e
- 0
.1 1 9
n s
- 0
.0 6 2
n s
- 0
.0 6 0
n s
- 0
.1 0 8
n s
B P
im p
ro v e m
e n t
0 .3 1 8 *
0 .1
8 8
n s
0 .1
2 6
n s
0 .1
1 6
n s
A p
p li
c a n
t tr
a c k
in g
sy st
e m
(A T
S )
0 .2 6 5 *
0 .0
5 7
n s
0 .0
3 8
n s
- 0
.0 6 2
n s
A T
S 9
B P
d o
c u
m e n
ta ti
o n
- 0
.0 5 8
n s
0 .1
5 8
n s
0 .2 3 3 *
- 0
.1 2 3
n s
A T
S 9
B P
st a n d a rd
iz a ti
o n
0 .1
7 8
n s
- 0
.1 5 3
n s
- 0
.1 2 0
n s
0 .0
8 9
n s
A T
S 9
B P
a n
a ly
si s
- 0
.0 5 9
n s
- 0
.3 3 0
n s
- 0
.2 8 9
n s
- 0
.3 8 5
n s
A T
S 9
B P
c o
n tr
o ll
in g
0 .2
6 1
n s
0 .2 8 4 *
0 .4 4 8 *
* *
0 .4 4 5 *
* *
A T
S 9
B P
g o
v e rn
a n
c e
- 0
.1 6 8
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0 .0
6 4
n s
0 .0
2 4
n s
- 0
.1 0 6
n s
A T
S 9
B P
im p
ro v
e m
e n
t 0
.0 1 9
n s
- 0
.0 7 9
n s
- 0
.1 7 9
n s
0 .0
2 1
n s
444 S. Laumer et al.
123
performance of the recruiting process in terms of quality. The results of this
interaction effect are illustrated in Fig. 4 below.
For the third dimension, satisfaction, the results of the three linear regression
models reveal a significant impact of business process standardization on the
satisfaction of recruiting process stakeholders. Although, no significant impact of
applicant tracking systems on stakeholders satisfaction can be observed (see second
linear regression model), the results of the third linear regression model reveals two
significant interaction effects. The first illustrates that a joint usage of applicant
tracking systems and business process documentation has a significant impact on
stakeholder satisfaction. The second reveals that using applicant tracking systems
enables a significant impact of business process controlling on the performance of
the recruiting process in terms of stakeholder satisfaction. These interactions effects
are illustrated in Fig. 5 below.
For the time dimension, the results of the linear regression models reveal a
positive impact of business process analysis and business process controlling.
Moreover, the third model indicates a positive interaction effect of applicant
tracking systems and business process controlling, even though the second linear
regression model shows no significant effect of using an ATS alone. Hence, using
Fig. 5 Joint impact of business process management and applicant tracking systems (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree)
The impact of business process management 445
123
applicant tracking systems enables a significantly greater impact of business process
controlling on the performance of the recruiting process in terms of time. The
observed interaction effect is illustrated in Fig. 5 below.
In summary, the results of the linear regression analyses based on the
representative study of 131 German companies reveal that BPM and the usage of
applicant tracking systems have a positive impact on recruiting process perfor-
mance, and the joint effect of implementing both BPM and applicant tracking
systems enables a significant better performance of the recruiting process in the
companies observed.
The results of the empirical study will be discussed in the concluding section.
5 Discussion, implications, and future research
‘‘No one seems to have developed a business process model of the HRM business
processes’’ (Cakar et al. 2003, p. 191), although ‘‘treating the HRM process as a
support process providing critical support to the key valued-add processes’’ (Cakar
et al. 2003, p. 191). With this survey,we have taken a ‘‘BPM in the small’’ approach
to evaluate the independent and combined impacts of BPM and IT on recruiting
process performance.
The results of our representative study of Germany’s top 1,000 companies
(N = 131) reveal that a reduction of recruiting process costs is significantly
determined by business process analysis, business process improvement, and the
usage of applicant tracking systems. Reduced cycle time of the recruiting process is
significantly influenced by business process analysis, business process controlling
and by the usage of an ATS that supports the controlling tasks. Business process
controlling and a joint usage of applicant tracking systems and business process
controlling has a significant positive impact on the quality of the recruiting process.
The satisfaction of the respective stakeholders of the process can be improved
through business process standardization and a joint usage of applicant tracking
systems, business process controlling and business process documentation. In
summary, the results reveal that different components of the BPM in conjunction
with IT have diverse impacts on different dimensions of recruiting process
performance. These results, summarized in Table 8, will be discussed in more detail
in the following, focusing on the diverse effects of BPM on process performance
and the joint impact of BPM and applicant tracking systems on recruiting process
performance.
5.1 Diverse effects of business process management
This study is a response to the identified need of studies exploring which individual
BPM components effect business process performance to what degree (Kohlbacher
2010). Whereas in several case studies the positive effect of BPM is reported (e.g.
Armistead and Machin 1998; Hertz et al. 2001; Küng and Hagen 2007;
Münstermann et al. 2010b), quantitative studies focusing different BPM compo-
nents are seldom. Therefore, the current study extents the BPM literature by
446 S. Laumer et al.
123
providing an empirical study of the positive effects on process performance and by
highlighting the diverse effects BPM might have. Prior research has not always
explicitly differentiated between the deployment of various BPM components and
their effects on process performance. Based on our study, we can conclude that the
impact on different performance dimensions in the recruiting process varies
depending on the components of BPM, as outlined above.
Recognizing the limitation that our results are only derived from one empirical
study focusing on one secondary business process, the confirmed effects for this
scenario indicate that business process analysis and improvement have an effect on
process costs, controlling on process time, standardization on process quality, and
controlling and analysis on stakeholders satisfaction. Based on this derived extended
understanding of BPM components, we can take a first step toward filling the
identified gap in research providing empirical confirmed explicit differentiation of
the effect of various BPM components on process performance (Kohlbacher 2010).
Our study indicates the positive effect of business process analysis, business process
improvement and the implementation of IT on process cost, of business process
analysis and IT-supported business process controlling on process time, of an IT-
supported controlling on process quality, and of business process standardization
and an joint implementation of IT and business process documentation as well as
controlling on business process stakeholders satisfaction.
Nevertheless, we also observed non-significant effects of several BPM compo-
nents. All tested linear regression models indicate that business process documen-
tation and business process governance have no significant direct impact on
business process performance. Based on our study, we cannot conclude that those
components directly effect process performance. Nonetheless, these results are in
line with the call by Kohlbacher (2010) as they illustrate the various effects BPM
components might have on process performance. One reason for the observed
effects might be that these dimensions have positive effects on different outcome
variables not tested in our model. In addition, there may have been indirect effects
as both components might impact others, which in turn influence process
Table 8 Summary of results
Recruiting process performance
Cost Time Quality Satisfaction
H1a: BP documentation
H1b: BP analysis Supported Supported
H1c: BP standardization Supported
H1d: BP governance
H1e: BP controlling Supported Supported
H1f: BP improvement Supported
H2: ATS Supported
H3: ATS 9 BP documentation Supported
H3: ATS 9 BP controlling Supported Supported Supported
The impact of business process management 447
123
performance. Finally, the effects might be different for other processes and
organizational settings.
Comparing our results with other research studies focusing on other business
processes we have to acknowledge that our results decrease the importance of
business process documentation as no significant effect can be observed. Other
studies reveal a high importance for this BPM component especially in primary
business process (e.g. Ungan 2006; Beimborn et al. 2008). Nonetheless, we observe
a significant correlation of business process documentation with other BPM
components which have an impact on process performance. For example,
documentation is strongly related with standardization and improvement which
have both an impact on performance. This is in line with the results of Ungan (2006)
who indicates that business process standardization can be realized through business
process documentation or Beimborn et al. (2008) who reveal documentation as an
important aspect of IT/Business-Alignment. Hence, business process documentation
is one example responding to the critique of Kohlbacher (2010) who states that most
studies do not state the exact BPM efforts implemented such that our differentiation
highlights that the positive effects of the recruiting process are mainly determined
by the joint implementation of BPM in terms of and IT, nonetheless, other non-
significant components are strongly related to these components and a better
understanding of the diverse components is necessary.
As our model was not able to control for all variables and it has not been tested in
other processes than the recruiting one, we would like to encourage future research
to extend our study by focusing on different organizational settings and different
scenarios in order to further extend the understanding of the diverse effects of BPM
on process performance. We assume that the purpose of the analyzed process will
moderate the impact of various BPM components on process performance such that
the effects will differ for core and secondary processes. Furthermore, the interplay
between the different BPM components need further theorizing and empirical
evidence. In addition, as we are limited by self-reported data only we encourage
future research to strengthen our argumentation by focusing on longitudinal and
objective performance data. Nonetheless, our results already indicate that the effects
of different BPM components on process performance are diverse which addresses
the shortcomings of prior BPM research in a first step as it highlights especially the
joint effect of BPM and IT implementations.
5.2 Joint effect of business process management and information technology
We can conclude from our study that the impact implementing both BPM and IT is
stronger than the impact of implementing either BPM or IT. As Fig. 5 illustrates,
implementing an ATS in conjunction with business process controlling or business
process documentation has a stronger effect on the satisfaction dimension of the
recruiting process. Based on the fact that implementing only an ATS does
statistically not impact the performance of the recruiting process, the results
illustrate that only joint and integrated implementation of BPM and IT enables
significant positive effects for the quality of the recruiting process.
448 S. Laumer et al.
123
This result indicates that companies that aim to improve stakeholder satisfaction
cannot realize any significant positive effect by either implementing BPM in terms
of process controlling or documentation or by adopting an applicant tracking
system. In order to gain positive effects by implementing an applicant tracking
system, companies have to integrate BPM and IT. These results are echoed by the
joint effect of implementing an ATS and business process controlling on improved
process quality and time. The sole effect of business process controlling is
strengthened by the implementation of an applicant tracking system. Thus,
companies implementing an applicant tracing system in conjunction with business
process controlling benefit more than companies only implementing business
process controlling. We conclude that IT significantly supports the effect of business
process controlling on process performance. Based on these results, we can derive
the recommendation that when implementing an applicant tracing systems as part of
a transformation of the recruiting process (Eckhardt et al. 2014) companies should
implement business process management for the recruiting process in parallel. In
addition, as especially the combination of an ATS and business process controlling
has positive effects on process time, quality, and stakeholder satisfaction, software
vendors developing and distributing applicant tracking systems should focus on
controlling functionality as a lever for achieving positive recruiting process
performance effects.
The implication of our study for IS research is that an important variable is
missing from the rich tradition of research of IS success (DeLone and McLean
1992; Petter et al. 2008; Dwivedi et al. 2014) that would better explain how a newly
implemented information system can be more successful than the already confirmed
effects. The most prominent model—the IS Success Model (DeLone and McLean
2003)—highlights that IS success is determined by information quality, system
quality, and service quality of the information system. Based on our results, we
control for these technology-focused impacts with the variable of using ATS in the
recruiting context revealing a positive impact on process costs. Beyond that, we
observed an even stronger effect of a combined implementation of BPM and IT on
process performance. Hence, the success of the information systems is strengthened
by the implementation of BPM components. Based on our study, we can conclude
that companies implementing a new information system (here: applicant tracking
system) benefit from system implementation by implementing and integrating BPM
in parallel. Hence, we conclude that success is determined by both the IT and the
combined implementation of BPM which constitutes an extension of previous IS
success models lacking the BPM component.
To further extend the IS success model, we suggest that future research further
theorize a ‘‘business process management quality’’ variable that focuses on the BPM
activities implemented parallel to an information system. Recognizing the specific
context of our single-study research focusing on a single process, we can only
confirm this effect for the recruiting context in Germany’s top 1,000 companies and
call for research building upon this idea to evaluate the joint effect of BPM and IT
on IS success in further studies focusing on different process and different enterprise
systems, such as enterprise resource planning (Karimi et al. 2007), social software
(Maier et al. 2014), or enterprise content management (Laumer et al. 2013).
The impact of business process management 449
123
Furthermore, as the interaction observed in our study does not test whether the
implementation of IT is moderated by BPM concepts or the other way round, we
only can observe a general interaction effect. Hence, further studies can build upon
our results by developing a more detailed theoretical explanation of the interaction
between IT and BPM.
5.3 Conclusion
Kohlbacher (2010) called for investigation into which BPM components have an
effect on which outcome variables of a business process, noting that prior research
has not always explicitly differentiated between the deployment of various BPM
components and their effects on process or organizational performance. In case of
the recruiting process and based on our study of Germany’s top 1,000 companies
(N = 131), we are able to conclude that different BPM components have diverse
effects on different business process performance variables. Our study illustrates the
joint impact of BPM and IT on the success of an IS.
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- The impact of business process management and applicant tracking systems on recruiting process performance: an empirical study
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Concepts
- Business process management
- Recruiting process
- Research model
- Recruiting process performance
- Business process management as driver of recruiting process performance
- The impact of business process documentation on process performance
- The impact of business process analysis on recruiting process performance
- The impact of business process standardization on recruiting process performance
- The impact of business process governance on process performance
- The impact of business process controlling on recruiting process performance
- The impact of business process improvement on process performance
- Applicant tracking systems as a driver of recruiting process performance
- The joint impact of business process management and information technology on recruiting process performance
- Empirical evidence
- Research methodology
- Measures
- Pre-study and content validity
- Research results
- Measurement instrument reliability and validity
- Discussion, implications, and future research
- Diverse effects of business process management
- Joint effect of business process management and information technology
- Conclusion
- References
