The Continued Innovation-Decision Process : A Case Study of Continued Adoption of Robotic Process Automation

Abstract

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) originally entered the field of information systems as one of those disruptive innovations that will, among other automation solutions, have a profound effect on job descriptions and work itself in near future. One of the sectors that will be revolutionized – and are in fact already changing – are financial and human resource (HR) services, such as accounting, billing, and payroll services. According to statistics, Finnish companies operating on the administrative and support services sector make little use of service robots. Companies that have initially adopted the technology do not necessary reach its full potential. We explore what factors create challenges for the continued adoption of robotic process automation by investigating two companies and using interpretive case study as our research method. The two companies are service centers. They operate on the public sector in Finland and provide financial and HR services for their owner-clients. The findings of this study include insights into the key factors that affect continued adoption of RPA, and these point towards an expanded model of Innovation-Decision Process where iterations of a new decision are triggered by new ideas on how to use the innovation.