Tags:Austrian companies, PLS-SEM, Robotic Process Automation and Technology Acceptance Model
Abstract:
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has become an important technology in the context of digitalization and automation of business processes. RPA is more flexible than stable business process automation of the IT systems at the user interface (UI) level, which leads to a sustainable reduction in process costs. However, the acceptance of RPA technology in Austrian companies is still very low. The problem may refer to the shortage of perceived maturity of RPA technology and/or the inertia of the industry. Thus, this paper describes an empirical study which evaluates the attitudes of Austrian companies concerning the use of RPA in the industrial processes. The theoretical basis for the evaluation is the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which is expanded by the fac-tor of perceived maturity. After the collection of data from 251 companies, the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was conducted to assess the measurement and structural models. The study showed that perceived usefulness and perceived maturity have an important influence on RPA technology acceptance. At the same time, there is no such effect for the perceived ease of use. The R2 was 0.481 for RPA acceptance, which points out that the explanatory power of the proposed model is relatively substantial. The empirical results have implications for the managers responsible for employing RPA technology in their companies.
An Acceptance of Robotic Process Automation Technology Acceptance: a Case Study from Austrian Companies