Abstract

This study employs an information processing perspective to advance the understanding of the relationship between process management and performance. Process management is viewed as a means for coping with information processing requirements under conditions of uncertainty. The central proposition is that as the amount of uncertainty surrounding an organization’s task environment increases, performance evolves from managing processes to progressively higher degrees of maturity. The authors explore the validity of their conceptual framework using data from feedback reports of 11 past recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award that included each of the award categories except manufacturing. Their analysis found that the processes of Baldrige recipients generally fell short of full integration and alignment sought by Baldrige and other frameworks. Because the sample organizations generally operate in stable contexts, these findings are consistent with the notion that high-performing organizations limit process management efforts to a degree that meets their information processing needs. Because this study constitutes one of the first to use primary data from the Baldrige Award process, a secondary contribution demonstrates how Baldrige data can be employed to advance both scholarship and practice.