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Investigating Robotic Process Automation Adoption in South African Banking

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Decision Intelligence Solutions (InCITe 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering ((LNEE,volume 1080))

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Abstract

Studies have shown that the traditional banking sector is under threat from digital banks and financial technology organisations. In response to this threat, leading banks have implemented Robotic Process Automation (RPA) powered by Artificial Intelligence to reduce costs and simplify operations. This has, however, proven to be challenging as in many cases the impact of automation technology implementations is perceived to affect the livelihoods of banking staff. Within the South African banking context, there is a particular sensitivity to factors that impede employment and labour unions are deeply involved in protecting workers. This study seeks to investigate the factors that drive RPA adoption in South African banks using the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework, extended with Institution Theory, as a lens to structure an approach in organising RPA adoption factors in an extensive literature review on the phenomenon. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data that was collected. Key findings were that the adoption of RPA in South African banks is driven by the expected benefits of RPA which are achieved when well-suited processes are targeted, an effective operating model for the program including business and IT personnel, with the right skills. A well-designed change program is critical for RPA adoption in banks.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Adheesh Budree & Mark Tew

Authors
  1. Adheesh Budree
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  2. Mark Tew
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adheesh Budree .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dy. Director (Academics) and Head - IT, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Nitasha Hasteer

  2. Centre for Intelligent Autonomous Manufacturing Systems, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK

    Seán McLoone

  3. School of Computer and Systems Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India

    Manju Khari

  4. Department of Information Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Purushottam Sharma

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© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Budree, A., Tew, M. (2023). Investigating Robotic Process Automation Adoption in South African Banking. In: Hasteer, N., McLoone, S., Khari, M., Sharma, P. (eds) Decision Intelligence Solutions. InCITe 2023. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, vol 1080. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5994-5_9

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