Abstract

This paper applies a design science research (DSR) approach to rethinking the architectural design of business process management systems (BPMS) for the Circular Economy (CE). Current BPMS designs remain rooted in workflow automation and insufficiently reflect the socio-technical, decentralized, and compliance-driven demands of CE contexts. Building on Kuechler and Vaishnavi’s DSR framework, we analyze shortcomings in existing BPMS architectures and derive design features (DF) from socio-technical systems theory (STST) and cognitive load theory (CLT). The resulting artifact is a conceptual BPMS architecture that integrates stakeholder roles, scalable execution engines, AI-supported process modelling, data catalogues for traceability, and compliance verification mechanisms. This design reconceptualizes the BPMS as a socio-technical system that coordinates value retention across collaborative business ecosystems. While evaluation was limited to iterative refinement, the model provides a basis for further validation with practitioners and highlights directions for developing BPMS that embed sustainability and digital innovation.

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