Bridging the Gap between Brazilian Startups and Business Processes – Process Thinking’s Initial Exploratory Case Study

Abstract

Startup is a new business segment that has been growing up in the last years. These companies have an innovative spirit and are usually searching for new solutions to real problems that can be transformed into scalable businesses. The majority of these companies are not aware of their processes and how the company need to be organized. For this kind of companies, we propose Process Thinking, an innovative approach that makes the business process management viable in the daily lives of startups. This paper presents the Process Thinking framework, which prescribes 10 main processes that a startup needs and a utility belt to help the startup to organize their processes. We illustrate this proposal through an exploratory case study with a real IT startup company that used a 5-step methodology in an immediate implementation of proposed processes and artifacts. The results indicate a positive impact in the short and medium term strategies and management of the startup. However, these results cannot be generalized to other startups and should be received with caution, since this is an initial exploratory study limited to a single company.

Combining Categories of Management Control Tools for High Performance of Start-ups

“…For this, start-ups and SMEs can combine know-how, core competences, and complementary resources (Mercandetti, Larbig, Tuozzo, & Steiner 2017). Examples of customer management practices include databases, customer satisfaction surveys, and studies on customer loyalty (Atkinson et al, 2011;Busco et al, 2017;Magdaleno et al, 2017;Sandelin, 2008;Sandino, 2007). The organization's internal and external control mechanisms, when based on the market, can be employed to align the interests of managers and other stakeholders.…”

“…The categor y related to Strateg y encompasses practices that aim to dynamically and systemically achieve strategic objectives. In this context, examples of strategy management controls include the definition of the mission, vision, and purpose of the business or strategic planning models (Alvesson & Kärreman, 2004;Anthony & Govindarajan, 1998;Atkinson et al, 2011;Bedford et al, 2016;Bolisani & Bratianu, 2017;Elbashir et al, 2011;Erkens & Van der Stede, 2015;Ferreira & Otley, 2009;Magdaleno et al, 2017;Manyaeva et al, 2016;Otley, 1999;Sandino, 2007;Voss & Brettel, 2014).…”

“…These controls should be in charge of both internal and external mechanisms. Having a management information system, whether integrated or not, is an example of management control in this category (Atkinson et al, 2011;Bolisani & Bratianu, 2017;Davila & Foster, 2005;Elbashir et al, 2011;Magdaleno et al, 2017;Manyaeva et al, 2016;Miranda, 2011;Otley, 1999;Sandino, 2007).…”

“…From the moment of their establishment, the focus of these companies is the development and penetration of their products in the market, based on a strong presence of technology and innovation in their production process. Among the most common problems that threaten the survival of these companies is the absence of management tools and procedures (Magdaleno, Engiel, Tavares, Pisa, & Araujo, 2017).…”

“…Abernethy & Brownell, 1997;Davila & Foster, 2005;Otley, 1999;Sandelin, 2008;Sandino, 2007). Nevertheless, more recently, a number of relevant studies have sought to analyze the practices of management control tools in start-ups (Bolisani & Bratianu 2017;Busco, Giovannoni, & Riccaboni, 2017;Elbashir, Collier, & Sutton, 2011;Ferreira & Otley, 2009;Magdaleno et al, 2017;Manyaeva, Piskunov, & Fomin, 2016;Strauß & Zecher, 2013;Voss & Brettel, 2014).…”