Business process reengineering for designing a knowledge-enabled customer-centric competitiveness strategy

Abstract

PurposeThe study aims to design a holistic multi-stage hierarchical model that leverages the firm's knowledge-enabled distinctive core competencies (DCCs) and builds enduring and profitable customer relationships to achieve sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in dynamic and challenging environments. It developed a knowledge-enabled customer-centric competitiveness strategy (KCCS) model that integrates four pillars: business process reengineering (BPR), knowledge management (KM), customer relationship management (CRM) and competitiveness strategy. It also proposed a BPR model to enable cross-functional cooperation and coordination for firms dealing with customers, provided a blueprint for KCCS's successful implementation and compared the KCCS model with other customer-centric (CC) approaches.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted an exploratory research design based on a literature review of relevant studies. It has systematically analyzed 130 articles and books from Scopus, the Web of Science, Google Scholar and other renowned databases from 1982 to 2022. The analysis involved identifying and selecting relevant literature and conducting thematic research to develop a theoretical KCCS model that integrates BPR, KM, CRM, competitiveness strategy and the firm's SCA into a KCCS model.FindingsThis study developed an integrative KCCS theoretical model rooted in the extant literature in BPR, KM, CRM, competitiveness strategy, DCCs, SCA and other fields. The study proposed a BPR model as a significant component of KCCS that enables cross-functional cooperation and coordination, which are often troublesome for firms in their dealings with customers. The study also provided a blueprint for successfully implementing the KCCS model and compared the KCCS model with other CC approaches.Originality/valueThis study filled many research gaps in the literature in which knowledge-enabled CC frameworks are widely scattered. It offered a conceptual multi-stage hierarchical KCCS model that combines interrelated elements of BPR, KM, CRM, and competitiveness strategy. It proposed a BPR model as a significant component of the KCCS that enables cross-functional cooperation and coordination, which frequently form barriers when dealing with customers. It also provided a blueprint for successfully implementing the KCCS and compared it with other CC approaches.