Workflow technology helps organizations improve efficiency by automating business processes and achieving better process control by standardizing working methods and providing audit trails. Workflow technology and management is an emerging research area in engineering and business. Major software vendors such as Oracle and SAP are now including a workflow component in their software suites. As a result, managing workflow technology becomes an urgent topic facing corporate managers.

E-commerce applications of workflow technology are more challenging than enterprise workflow applications because e-commerce requires process automation across organizational boundaries. An inter-organizational environment makes workflow automation issues such as heterogeneity, integration, interoperability, scalability, and security, much more important.

In this mini track, we concentrate on workflow technology and management in e-commerce. Sample topic areas for the mini track include the following:

• Implementation of workflow technology in e-commerce systems
• The effectiveness of workflow technology in e-commerce
• Workflow-based architectures for e-commerce implementation
• Supply chain integration through workflow automation
• Transformation of procurement process
• Workflow system deployment in inter-organizational environment
• Integration of manual, semi-automated, and fully automated sub-workflow systems
• Economic tradeoffs in the adoption of workflow technology
• Internet-based workflow systems
• Organizational modeling in workflow systems
• Flexibility issues in workflow systems
• Light weight workflow management systems
• XML applications in workflow technology
• UML and workflow modeling

We invite papers that address any of the areas listed above, as well as any related issues. A range of research methodologies including conceptual, case analysis, implementation, lab experiments, and surveys would be appropriate.

Mini Track Co-Chairs

Dr. J. Leon Zhao (*)
The University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona 85721
LZhao@BPA.Arizona.EDU
Phone: (520) 621-2748
Fax: (520) 621-2433

Professor Edward A. Stohr
Stern School of Business
New York University
New York, NY 10012, USA
E-mail: estohr@stern.nyu.edu