Concept of a Business-Process-Related Digital Twin Based on Systems Theory and Operational Excellence

The goal of this paper is to establish a common understanding of a business-process-related digital twin to ensure that future research efforts can be structured and organized on solid foundations. Through a literature review and a thematic analysis of digital twin publications with direct or indirect relationship to business processes, this paper provides a systematic characterization of a novel concept for a digital twin. The term digital twin has become a popular and well-known term across a range of application fields, functions, and research areas. Nevertheless, research regarding digital twins is mostly focused on industrial fields, e.g., production, manufacturing, and process engineering considering different types of physical objects. There is a clear consensus among scientists and practitioners that the concept behind the digital twin is a key enabler for the digital transformation in enterprises. While early publications on digital twins focused on physical objects and products, more recent publications show a shift towards processes. With an ongoing research practice regarding the applicability of the digital twin in process industry, still little research has been performed in the field of business processes. Therefore, this paper addresses the need for more extensive research on business-process-related digital twins to propose a novel concept in this context.