Using Social Network Analysis to Test an IT-Enabled Business Process Reengineering Theory

After more than a decade of research in information technology-enabled business process reengineering (BPR), no clear theory explains the link between information technology (IT) and organizational transformation. This paper introduces the use of social network analysis (SNA) methods to analyze this link. SNA is a social structural approach that focuses on dynamic relationships among the technology, its adopters, and the social context they are in. It is used in this study to test Galbraith’s Organizational Information Processing Theory (OIPT) in describing three IT-enabled BPR efforts. The results of the research show that SNA coupled with the OIPT is capable of explaining how technological innovation and process innovation interact within the context of BPR. The results of the research also provide measures that can be used by practitioners and researchers as leading indicators of BPR success.