Monitoring and planning of local territorial development as a modelable business process: the case of Latvian municipalities

The purpose of this study is to develop a model (using the case of Latvian municipalities), which represents monitoring and planning of local territorial development as a business process. It is hypothetically assumed that business process modeling for monitoring and planning local territorial development is possible and increases the level of this development, but is not widely used in Latvian municipalieties. This hypothesis is tested through a literature analysis, the use of business process modeling tools, action research in Augshdaugava County municipality and statistical analysis of survey data (Latvian municipalities, N = 43, 2024). The evaluation of business process modeling (BPMdl) maturity levels in the context of business process management (BPMng) (in particular, its core elements: strategic alignment, governance, method, information technology, people, culture) is conducted using the Business Process Maturity Model (BPMM). Data were collected through a survey (based on a special 5-score scale of BPMdl maturity levels) of administrative staff responsible for the creation of annual public reports in Latvian municipalities or actively involved in this process. The results of the study indicate a moderate overall level of BPMdl maturity (from 1.91 score for methods to 3.86 score for strategic fit) in Latvian municipalities. Furthermore, BPMdl maturity levels, especially in terms of methods and culture, are statistically significant determinants of local economic development. The results of the discriminant analysis show that, based on BPMdl maturity levels, it is possible to classify Latvian municipalities into groups with a less developed economy and a more developed economy with an accuracy of 95.3%. This study is innovative in the application of BPMdl for local territorial development in Latvia.