Abstract
Robotic process automation (RPA) is an instantiation of lightweight automation that allows organizations to automate manual business processes quickly and at low cost without modifying the organization's underlying deep information-systems structures. While RPA endows organizations with digital options (e.g., automation ability, cost savings), its implementation is bound to incur technical debt (i.e., accumulate unwarranted complexity in the IT architecture). The paper reports on an action research study shedding light on how RPA ties in with these two notions of a firm's design capital: digital options and technical debt. Findings indicate that RPA can create digital options through improvements in knowledge reach, knowledge richness, and process richness. These benefits come at the cost of accumulating technical debt which stems from additional technical complexity and maintenance obligations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 56th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences |
| Editors | Tung X. Bui |
| Publisher | Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences |
| Pages | 5442-5451 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-0-9981331-6-4 |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
| MoE publication type | A4 Conference publication |
| Event | Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - Maui, United States Duration: 3 Jan 2023 → 6 Jan 2023 Conference number: 56 |
Publication series
| Name | Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences |
|---|---|
| Volume | 2023-January |
| ISSN (Print) | 1530-1605 |
Conference
| Conference | Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | HICSS |
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Maui |
| Period | 03/01/2023 → 06/01/2023 |
Keywords
- action research
- design capital
- digital options
- Robotic Process Automation
- technical debt