Title: A systematic literature review of business process characteristics
Authors: Mohammad Amin Zare; Mohammad Taghi Taghavifard; Maghsoud Amiri; Iman Raeesi Vanani
Addresses: Department of Industrial Management, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, The Islamic Republic of Iran ' Department of Industrial Management, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, The Islamic Republic of Iran ' Department of Industrial Management, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, The Islamic Republic of Iran ' Department of Industrial Management, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, The Islamic Republic of Iran
Abstract: Many organisations prioritise business process management in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness while achieving organisational objectives. Due to the variety and complexity of enterprise business processes, knowledge of business process characteristics enhances the possibility of the success of business process management initiatives. Thus, a systematic review of business process characteristics in the extensive literature on business process management is needed. This paper provides a systemic literature review, based on 63 papers selected from six popular digital libraries that were published between 1990 to 2022. According to the review results, business process characteristics have been referred to in various studies in business process management for different purposes, such as process measurement, process analysis, and process improvement. But few pieces of research were found dedicated to conceptualising process characteristics and classifying them based on conceptual frameworks. Also, the interaction of process characteristics and their relationships have not been investigated extensively in the literature. This paper contributes to the business process management research by aggregating, describing, and classification of business process characteristics.
Keywords: business process; business process characteristics; business process management; systematic review.
DOI: 10.1504/IJPMB.2025.145434
International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking, 2025 Vol.20 No.1, pp.32 - 53
Received: 11 Aug 2023
Accepted: 23 Dec 2023
Published online: 01 Apr 2025 *