Robotic Process Automation in Scholarly Literature: A Bibliometric Review from 2001-2022

This bibliometric analysis examines scholarly research on robotic process automation (RPA) published from 2001 to 2022.Database searches in Scopus identified 310 relevant RPA articles using title, abstract, and keyword screening.Publication trends, prominent contributors, sources, citations, keywords, and research foci were visualized using VOSviewer and analyzed to reveal patterns in the rapidly evolving RPA literature.Results track dramatic growth since 2018 and the prominence of conference papers and computer science outlets.RPA applications for business process improvement and intelligent automation emerges as central themes.However, geographical imbalances skew toward European and North American sources despite global RPA adoption.India is prominently digging deep into robotic process automation research and securing the First position along with Germany.The published papers can primarily be classified into six overarching themes: 'RPA for digital transformation and social partnerships,' 'RPA for operational efficiency,' 'Robotic intelligence and automation,' 'RPA for business management,' 'RPA in business process automation,' and 'autonomous RPA.'This study contributes an empirical assessment of the current state and maturation of RPA research, identifying potential gaps and future directions, such as qualitative methods and non-Western contexts.More holistic bibliometric reviews can inform scholars seeking to advance RPA literature amidst its interdisciplinary nature and industry growth.