Business process management and IT management: The missing integration

• BPM and IT functions collaborate and integrate to enable business-IT alignment.
• BPM and IT liaison positions and aligned planning processes enable integration.
• Role of IT influences direction of integration at strategic and operational levels.
• IT as business enabler calls for sequential and reciprocal integration.
• IT as strategic weapon calls for reciprocal integration.

The importance of business processes and the centrality of IT to contemporary organizations’ performance calls for a specific focus on business process management and IT management. Despite the wide scope of business process management covering both business and IT domains, and the profound impact of IT on process innovations, the association between business process management and IT management is under-explored. Drawing on a literature analysis of the capabilities of business process and IT governance frameworks and findings from a case study, we propose the need for horizontal integration between the two management functions to enable strategic and operational business—IT alignment. We further argue that the role of IT in an organization influences the direction of integration between the two functions and thus the choice of integration mechanisms. Using case study findings, we propose that IT as a business enabler respectively calls for sequential and reciprocal integrations at strategic and operational planning levels. Drawing on logical reasoning, we suggest that IT as a strategic driver necessitates reciprocal integration at both levels.