Adoption of Robotic Process Automation in the Public Sector: A Survey Study in Sweden

Abstract

The public sector has increased its use of robotic process automation (RPA) in administration, decision making and citizen services. Available studies mostly focused on the specific cases of using RPA in public organizations. Thus, we lack the helicopter view of the adoption of RPA in a country. In this paper, we present the results of a national survey of RPA adoption in the public sector in Sweden. The results show that the awareness of RPA is high in the Swedish public sector although the level of adoption is still modest. Also, there are notable differences in the level of adoption between central and local government. The study goes beyond the limitations of case studies, and contribute new knowledge of RRA adoption, benefits, routine capability and governance on a national level. The knowledge and insights can serve as a reference for other countries and public administrative models.