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In recent years, the robotic process automation (RPA) technology, a software-based method to automate routine tasks in business processes, has gained significant interest and adoption. However, many implementation projects fail and current literature lacks a synthesis and comprehensive overview of factors that challenge the implementation of RPA, have an impact on success or failure of projects, or, play an enabling role in an RPA project. Hence, the purpose of this research is to identify key factors that should be considered by organizations when conducting an RPA project.

The paper adopts a qualitative methodology based on data collected in a systematic literature review (SLR) and interviews with 10 RPA experts. Using inductive coding, an integrated framework of key factors is developed.

The results suggest that the key factors for a successful RPA introduction can be divided into human, organizational and technical factors. Important aspects include for example project management techniques, capabilities and skills of employees, as well as data security considerations.

The paper contributes to knowledge by synthesizing previously dispersed knowledge into an integrated framework, as well as by complementing previous results with new qualitative, empirical data. Additionally, the RPA-specific factors are put into the perspective of persistent problems in information systems development.

In recent years, the robotic process automation (RPA) technology has increasingly been used to automate business processes. While a lot of research has been published on the potential and benefits of the technology, only a few studies have conducted research on challenges related to RPA adoption. Hence, this study aims to identify and discuss challenges related to RPA implementation projects.

Following an inductive methodology, interviews have been conducted with consultants who were involved in multiple RPA implementation projects. Hence, their extensive experience and views contribute to a detailed and in-depth understanding of the phenomena under research.

The results suggest that there are various process-related, technical, resource-related, psychological and coordinative challenges that must be considered when conducting an RPA implementation project.

This paper contributes to knowledge by presenting a new typology of challenges, as well as providing an in-depth discussion of the individual challenges that organizations face.

Elite interviewing is a well-established area of interview research methods. Nevertheless, the actual casting of an “elite” has been generally conducted in a prima facie or broad manner. A consideration of entrepreneurs and owner-managers as “elites” has been less profiled and received less attention, therefore the paper views the entrepreneurs and owner-managers as constituting a form of “local elite” within given and varying sectorial, regional and community boundaries. The authors argue that a consideration of entrepreneurs as “local elites” and transferring knowledge from an elite interviewing perspective may strongly support scholarly research in the entrepreneurship field.

The study conducts a comprehensive narrative literature review of elite interviewing literature and transfers key methodological insights to the entrepreneurship field. The methodological contribution based on literature is complemented by experiences and observations from an extensive inductive interview study with over 30 entrepreneurs of German manufacturing Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs) and are used to reflect on, and refine, interview research approaches with entrepreneurs.

The reflections and discussions in this paper provide valuable insights for other researchers conducting research in entrepreneurship domains regarding the power dynamics of negotiating access, procedural issues of interviews and thereby enhancing the quality of data.

The contribution to knowledge is mainly of a methodological nature. While the paper takes a novel act of recasting elite interviewing in the SME and entrepreneurship context, the paper methodologically contributes to the entrepreneurship and elite interview literature thereby facilitating higher quality interviews.

Due to the disruptive nature of digital transformation, firms can hardly ignore the further digitalisation of processes and business models. Implementing such initiatives triggers enormous investments in infrastructure and software, making the evaluation of digital investments crucial for a firm’s competitive situation.

Given the dynamics and uncertainties inherent in digital transformation, a qualitative, inductive research approach based on semi-structured interviews with high-level finance executives has been employed.

Our findings indicate widespread dissatisfaction with traditional investment appraisal methods for evaluating digital investments. Data also suggest that non-financial considerations are frequently taken into account, albeit implicitly, as participants struggled to clearly conceptualize these criteria.

The literature indicates important research gaps regarding the applicability and usage of traditional, predominantly financial, investment appraisal methods in digital contexts. This research enhances our understanding of digital investment evaluation, by (i) developing an exploratory conceptual framework of potential qualitative evaluation criteria and (ii) providing an in-depth and detailed understanding of the barriers to implementing investment appraisal methods.

Digital transformation of organizations has major implications for required skills and competencies of the workforce, both as a prerequisite for implementation, and, as a consequence of the transformation. The purpose of this study is to analyze required skills and competencies for digital transformation using the context of robotic process automation (RPA) as an example.

This study is based on an explorative, thematic coding analysis of 119 job advertisements related to RPA. The data was collected from major online job platforms, qualitatively coded and subsequently analyzed quantitatively.

The research highlights the general importance of specific skills and competencies for digital transformation and shows a gap between available skills and required skills. Moreover, it is concluded that reskilling the existing workforce might be difficult. Many emerging positions can be found in the consulting sector, which raises questions about the permanent vs temporary nature of the requirements, as well as the difficulty of acquiring the required knowledge.

This paper contributes to knowledge by providing new empirical findings and a novel perspective to the ongoing discussion of digital skills, employment effects and reskilling demands of the existing workforce owing to recent technological developments and automation in the overall context of digital transformation.

The overall goal of this chapter is to critique the purported business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, which persists as a major contentious force in convincing companies to become more sustainable. Extant literature on sustainability, CSR and Socially Responsible Investments (SRIs) generally tends to focus on company perspectives decision-making and approaches. This chapter considers an alternative and under-developed perspective and examines CSR from a consumer/public perspective situated in a German context.

This chapter builds a comprehensive literature review and employs a research philosophical point of view underpinned by a social constructionist stance. It examines indicators and attitudes towards sustainability and sustainable consumption together with socially responsible investments and considers whether the buying patterns of German consumers may serve as a rationalisation for a potential business case for CSR and sustainability.

While the awareness of consumers of CSR in Germany towards sustainability tends to be generally relatively prima facie high, it is nevertheless noticeable that German consumers are predominately reluctant to pay a price premium for product possessing a superior sustainability performance. From the alternative lens of SRIs, rather than being a replete and widespread phenomenon, they are still largely a niche market. For these reasons, the potential for the existence of a business case for sustainability, CSR and SRIs tends in reality to be low, in spite of some populist or survey reports and perceptions.

The chapter links a consumer perspective with the business case for CSR. Moreover, it focuses on the German context which tends to be underrepresented in international research.

We analyze the effectiveness of public works programs (PWP, Arbeits-beschaffungsmaßnahmen) in Eastern Germany as measured by their effects on individual future re-employment probabilities in regular jobs. These are estimated by discrete hazard rate models on the basis of individual-level panel data. We account for unobserved individual heterogeneity in both the PWP participation and in the outcome equations. We also test for selection on unobservables.

We find that public works programs seem to have no special targeting focus on disadvantaged groups in the labor market and that participants are, on average, worse off concerning their re-employment prospects in regular jobs than unemployed people who do not join such a program. A possible explanation for this result is that PWP participants search less intensively for a regular job while on such a program than unemployed non-participants.

Sustainability has become a hot topic in business administration theory. However, there is still a lack of knowledge on how companies can manage sustainability properly. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is two fold. First, it provides an updated discussion on the potential business case for sustainability. Second, it analyses the current state of the implementation of sustainability management in Germany.

Based on literature review, the paper aims to answer two research questions: are there indications for a business case for sustainability, and what is the current state of implementation of sustainability management in Germany?

A business case for sustainability seems, in principle, plausible, especially with regard to an individual company basis. The discussion of recent empirical studies in Germany may lead to the conclusion that sustainability management is not yet implemented comprehensively. Remarkably, the management control and finance departments are almost completely uninvolved in the implementation of sustainability.

Empirical research is not provided. The paper proposes to conduct qualitative empirical studies for further research to address the research problem.

The paper integrates German and international literature and therefore represents a comprehensive base for further research. It also brings a number of empirical studies about the implementation of sustainability management, conducted in the German language, into the international discussion.

The purpose of this paper is to study the remuneration of management in the financial crisis. What are the key elements of management payment at the Euro Stoxx 50 companies, does management remuneration comprise long-term incentives in order to overcome principal-agent conflicts and how did the financial crisis affect management payment in terms of payment elements and size?

Based on the Euro Stoxx 50 financial reports of the fiscal year 2009 and other documents elements and size of management payment are being analysed.

Management payment has been affected by financial crisis. Among the Euro Stoxx 50 companies management remuneration is quite heterogeneous.

There is still a lack of use of appropriate metrics. There are doubts whether measures like TSR really can align manager's decisions to a sustainable, long-term orientated strategy.

The paper gives an insight view in management remuneration at the Euro Stoxx 50 companies.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the applicability of value based management (VBM) concepts for small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and to identify obstacles for its implementation. Estimating cost of capital is central to all VBM concepts, it is hence intended to critically analyse approaches that allow estimating cost of capital for non‐publicly traded firms.

The paper is based on literature review and a case study approach. A case study on estimating the cost of capital has been conducted with a single manufacturing firm in Germany.

VBM may provide useful management concepts for SMEs. Estimating the cost of capital has been found to be a critical element of implementing VBM concepts. Due to the absence of capital market data, cost of equity in SMEs has to be derived by means of alternative procedures. Results of a case study implicate that a combination of different methods may provide reasonable results in practice.

The applied research approach and the heterogeneity of the SME sector do not allow generalizing the results of this research.

The paper addresses a major barrier for implementing VBM in SMEs. It proposes a combination of analogy and qualitative approaches for estimating the cost of equity in SMEs.