The impact of trust in transformation leadership of the implementation of robotic process automation (RPA)

Abstract

This study explored the impact of trust in transformational leadership on the implementation of robotic process automation (RPA) which to date has not been widely researched. The study further explored whether if trust was present, its impact was to diminish the fear of job losses. As part of this study, the integrative trust model developed by Mayer, Schoorman & Davis was used to measure trust. To understand these research questions a questionnaire was administered to employees (N = 313) of which 224 were considered valid for the purpose of testing. The results of the testing show that there was no relation between trust in transformational leadership on the implementation of RPA, although tests indicate that there is a chance that trust in transformational leadership impacts the implementation of RPA. Similarly, the results showed that there was no relationship between trust in transformational leadership and the fear of job losses but there is a chance that trust impacts the fear of job losses. In addition, the study showed that there were high levels of trust, belief in the implementation of RPA and little fear of job losses. The findings offered support for positive future developments in research and practice whilst understanding the business problem relating to whether trust in transformational leadership can influence the effective implementation of RPA and lead to a decrease in the fear of job losses.