Examining the relationship between business process improvement initiatives, information systems integration and customer focus: an empirical study

Purpose The goal is to examine the relationship between business process improvement initiatives (BPII), information systems (ISs) integration, and customer focus. Design/methodology/approach The data for the study were collected at the divisional levels from a list of “Fortune 500” firms. A total of 1,100 questionnaires were mailed to divisional managers and 115 responses were used for the data analysis. Findings The results of this study support the hypotheses that BPII directly affects customer responsiveness and product/service innovation. In addition, data integration and communication networks flexibility are found to significantly affect customer responsiveness and product/service innovation. Communication networks connectivity did not have any significant effect on customer responsiveness and product/service innovation, respectively. Data integration, intrafirm networks connectivity and networks flexibility are found to significantly mediate the relationship between BPII and customer responsiveness and BPII and product/service development, respectively. Interfirm networks connectivity was not found to significantly mediate the relationship between BPII and customer responsiveness and BPII and product/service development, respectively. Research limitations/implications The sample consists of divisions of Fortune 500 firms. Second, the study is cross‐sectional; therefore, it lacks the predictive power to find the long‐term effects of BPII and IS integration on customer focus. A longitudinal study can be a future research endeavor to validate the results of the study. Originality/value To business managers, the study clarifies the role of IS integration in customer focus.