The impact of knowledge management on the development of innovative business process architecture modelling: The case of banking in Jordan

Abstract

This article proposes to use the resource-based view (RBV) to highlight the importance of intangible assets such as knowledge in the design of business process architecture (BPA). This approach, based on knowledge management (KM), implies the need to take into consideration the dynamic aspect of both the internal and the external environment. The article identifies key knowledge management enablers (KMEs) that can affect the successful design of a competitive BPA. Generic identification of KMEs with their main interactions can be useful to drive the development of a dynamic and competitive BPA. Semantic representation using ontologies is a means to accomplish this identification and to specify the necessary abstract level of the KMEs domain. This research utilizes the newly developed abstract KMEs ontology (aKMEOnt) that formally defines an essential pillar of the KM domain to present a knowledge-based approach for BPA modelling, with the novel KMEOntoBPA framework. Thus, one of the anticipated corollaries of this research is the integration between KM and BPA disciplines. The design science research methodology (DSRM) has been used to guide the research phases, which mainly include the design and development, demonstration and evaluation of the research framework. The financing department of a key international bank in Jordan is the case study that has been applied in this research. The research findings show that using a knowledge-based approach with ontologies can provide a dynamic and continuous generation of the BPA elements of the financing department. Furthermore, a knowledge-based BPA approach has several advantages and supports the sources of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA).