An empirical examination of the effects of information systems integrationon business process improvement

Since the mid-1980s, the subject of information systems (IS) integration an d its role in business process improvement (BPI) has been of considerable i nterest to business managers and researchers. The present study examines th e effects of IS integration on BPI: The moderating effects of industry type , information intensity of the industry and time since the initiation of th e existing program in the firm have also been analyzed. The data for the st udy were gathered through a survey of Fortune 500 US firms at divisional le vels. The results of the study support the hypotheses that data integration and communication networks integration affect the dimensions of BPI. Howev er none of the moderators, except industry type, was found significantly af fecting the relationships between networks integration and process improvem ent effect and customer focus.