Configurational theories embrace the notion that a phenomenon (i.e., employee perceptions and reactions to RPA in this study) depends on a complex arrangement of multiple attributes that interact in a non-linear fashion (Fiss, 2007; Meyer et al., 1993). . We followed Furnari et al. 2020) configuration theorizing process that involves three iterative stages: stretching, linking, and naming.
4 Findings
Software Robots as a Burden and Threat
The configuration 'software robots as a burden and threat' largely describes a somewhat negative attitude towards software robots by some employees due to concerns about their job security and negative reactions to additional responsibilities on their work and software robots. In particular, some employees are worried that software robots will replace their jobs, which is expressed in their resistance to collaborating with the automation team throughout the implementation process: “There would be a lot of resistance there, especially the fear of the robots, all the movies that we have seen where the robots take over. An employee of the operations team emphasizes this point, explaining that "the older employees were much more worried about being replaced by the robots" and "While people who may not really understand computers, I think they would be more wary of the change , because you know, they're thinking along the lines of like well, what am I going to do now” (Interviewee L, RPA user).
Consequently, these employees are unwilling to share information about their job duties during the request-gathering phase or intentionally leave out information about how they perform their job duties to maintain their advantage over software bots: “ It was also interesting in that when we got back to business, and it's like, oh well, we can do it faster. You know, suddenly more information came out.” (Interviewee H, change manager) After the introduction of software robots, these employees tend to reject the changes introduced in their work processes: “As soon as you introduce automation, then they're like, I don't understand it. So more responsibility means we have to go and check everything.” (Interviewee N, RPA user) Perhaps, not surprisingly, these employees do not want to use software bots or, in some cases, only use them when told to: “If we have data that says these people don't They're not using it even though we've made all the benefits and changes, and every month it's the same users who don't use it and they just refuse to use it." (Interviewee B, IA team member) When about their assessment of the performance of the software bots, these employees maintain their distrust in the work of the software bots and often question their credibility: “Obviously there was a little, is the bot calculating it correctly.
Software Robots as Tools
At the beginning of the implementation process, these employees see some potential benefits of software robots and expect that software robots will help them save time and reduce mundane tasks: “So I think it was an interesting mix between excitement and fear from some employees. However, due to possible changes in their work tasks, they are reluctant to fully cooperate with the automation team during the automation process: “That's part of the agreement that you have a regular kind of meeting where you can express any kind of frustration. After seeing some initial benefits, over time these employees hesitantly accepted the changes in their work processes without fully trusting software robots after their introduction: “The approval officer double-checks the information that the robots enter.
Once they start working with software robots, these employees adopt a pragmatic attitude and view software robots as additional resources to partially support their work, as explained by a manager whose team members worked with software robots: “The robot helps us in our process. to make a decision. Ultimately, these employees accept software robots as a solution or a new tool in their work process: “The robots are alive, they are BAU [Business as Usual]. But they remain vigilant about software robot performance and use several key performance indicators (KPIs) as evaluation measures such as the number of exceptions or errors that software robots make: “That's why I refer to it as assisted automation.
Software Robots as Teammates
Employees are concerned that the introduction of software robots will lead to job insecurity and job loss. Employees do not use software robots or only use them when instructed to do so. Likewise, they describe the performance of software robots in the same way they talk about the performance of their human teammates.
The configuration "Software robots as innovative enablers" usually describes a forward-looking perspective taken by some employees about the role of software robots, their innovativeness and benefits to improve work performance. Unlike those in the previous configuration who emphasize how software robots can help them with their workload, these employees see robots as opportunities to help them improve. Therefore, these employees embrace software robots and proactively look for ways to use more of them or expand their use, if possible: “They're fine, can we have one more robot please .
5 Discussion
Theoretical Contributions
First, we developed configurations of employee perceptions and reactions to RPA using a configurational approach (Furnari et al., 2020; Meyer et al., 1993) and highlighting the different perspectives that employees have toward RPA and software robots. Second, we build on Stein et al. 2015) research on ambivalent affective responses to new IT implementations.
Following the theorizing process by Furnari et al. 2020), we manage to achieve theoretical quantification of six intertwined attributes that contribute to four distinct views of software robots. These configurations can be used as a building block for future research to systematically theorize and expand our understanding of employee perceptions and reactions to RPA as the transformative change process unfolds (Baptista et al., 2020). We also call for future research to investigate the drivers of anthropomorphism in the context of RPA (Epley et al., 2007).
Managerial Implications
This is especially true for the "software robots as teammates" configuration, where the employees partially anthropomorphized the robots. Partial anthropomorphism means that these employees attribute some human characteristics to the robots and interpret them using human schemas without fully perceiving the robots as literally human (Aggarwal & McGill, 2007; Guthrie, 1993). We theorized the ripple effect of anthropomorphism on employees' engagement with the RPA team, their interactions with robots, and ultimately the integration of software robots into their team.
While research has shown that anthropomorphism has a positive effect on user experience in AI in general and conversational agents in particular (Moussawi et al., 2020; Sheehan et al., 2020), the effects of anthropomorphism in the context of RPA have not been explored and therefore, they are not well understood. Therefore, we encourage further research in this area of anthropomorphism and employee experiences with RPA and the social dynamics between software robots and human employees.
6 Conclusion
First, when developing configurations, we had to rely on the perspectives of automation team members and not just the opinions of RPA users. However, this allowed us to get a holistic perspective and access to data logs that triangulate whether employees use robots or not. However, despite the presence of the automation team member, the interviewees also talked about their negative perceptions and reactions and a dramatic incident, which allows us to conclude that they did not feel pressured to change their answers to please the member of the automation team. .
As mentioned above, the field of RPA is still very under-researched (Hofmann et al., 2020; Syed et al., 2020); we know particularly little about the implications of RPA implementations on the human workforce. Our study was a first attempt to address this gap; however, we encourage further research into: a) if and how the different configurations evolve over time, b) the occurrence of ambivalent affective responses and the consequences for RPA adoption and (continued) use, c) the effects of RPA implementation on employees' work processes and practices, and d) the relationship between anthropomorphism and employees' attitudes towards RPA and software robots. Future studies following a configurational approach might consider QCA, a set-theoretic approach that uses Boolean algebra to evaluate which combinations of attributes combine to result in an outcome (Fiss, 2007; Misangyi et al., 2017; .Ragin.Another valuable direction for future research is to look deeper into employee adaptation behavior across different configurations of employee perceptions of and responses to RPA.
Second, in two interviews with three employees from the business units, a member of the automation team was present, which could have influenced their responses. Retrieved from https://sfmagazine-com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/post-entry/april-2017-artificial-intelligence-in-business/. Engineering requires minimal effort to robotically automate processes with test-driven development and screen recording. (Re-)configuration of digital work in the light of deep technological innovations: constellations and hidden work.
An investigation of the effects of text-to-speech voice and avatars on the perception of presence and flow of live help in electronic commerce. Learning from first-generation qualitative approaches in the IS discipline: An evolutionary view and some implications for authors and evaluators (Part 1/2). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1017027/worldwide-robotic-process-automation-adoption-investment-rates-organization-size/.
Appendix
Amman, 2018). employee The implementation of RPA leads to the creation of new roles for employees. Based on their literature review, Syed et al. 2020) confirm that RPA can lead to the creation of new roles for employees. For example, data entry can be outsourced to RPA in the visit data management process (Ratia et al., 2018).
The employees who worked on the payroll process at QUT learned about automation that they would not have without the implementation of RPA (Dengama Vitharanage et al., 2020). The operational manager of an oil and gas company says that the accountants fear losing their jobs due to the implementation of RPA. The operational manager of the oil and gas company states that accountants are concerned about having to learn new skills due to the RPA-induced changes in their work processes (Fernandez & Aman, 2018).
