Analyzing the academic discourse on RPA in banking: A bibliometric approach

Bindhya M. Salila; Maria Fulgen; Krishna Nambiar; Archana Kemanabally; Lekshmi Sobhanakumary; Binu Thomas

doi:10.31893/multirev.2025064

Keywords:

robotic process automation

financial institution

bibliometric analysis

biblioshiny

VOSviewer

citespace

Abstract

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in the banking sector has gained significant attention for its potential to improve operational efficiency, accuracy, and customer service by automating repetitive tasks such as transaction processing, compliance checks, and customer inquiries. This bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the research landscape on RPA in banking, utilizing data extracted from Scopus. The study follows PRISMA guidelines for document inclusion and exclusion to ensure a robust methodology. Various bibliometric tools, including Biblioshiny, VOSviewer, and Citespace, were employed to conduct a detailed analysis of the field. Key findings highlight trends in annual scientific production, allowing for the identification of the most prolific authors, sources, and documents in the domain. The study also conducts a citation analysis to pinpoint globally influential documents. Furthermore, visualizations such as thematic maps, trend topic analysis, and bibliographic coupling offer insights into the evolving research themes and their interconnectedness. Co-occurrence of keywords, historiography, and coauthorship networks shed light on the collaborative and intellectual structure of the field, while cocitation analysis reveals relationships among leading authors and their influence on the development of RPA in banking. The analysis also uncovers several research gaps, particularly in the underexplored areas of sales and enterprise resource planning. Practical implications for banking institutions include strategies for leveraging RPA to enhance efficiency and competitiveness. In conclusion, this study underscores the growing importance of RPA in banking and offers a blueprint for future research directions, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and further exploration of managerial and technological aspects. In addition to identifying key trends and influential works, the study emphasizes the need for further research into the integration of RPA with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain to optimize banking operations.
References
1. Abbas, A. F., Jusoh, A., Masod, A., & Ali, J. (2021). A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications on Social Media Influencers Using Vosviewer. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, 99(23), 5662–5676.
2. Achuthan, K., Nair, V. K., Kowalski, R., Ramanathan, S., & Raman, R. (2023). Cyberbullying research — Alignment to sustainable development and impact of COVID-19: Bibliometrics and science mapping analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 140, 107566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107566
3. Alfouzan, R. K., Gopinathan, P. A., Haq, I. U., Iyer, K., Nawab, A. A., Alhumaidan, A., Alfouzan, R. K., Gopinathan Jr, P. A., & Ikram, U. (2023). Bibliometric Evaluation of the 100 Top-Cited Articles on Anesthesiology. Cureus, 15(12). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.50959
4. Chen, S., Ding, Q., & Liang, K. (2023). Research on Green Port Based on LDA Model and CiteSpace Bibliometric Analysis. In Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering (Vol. 12725). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2679115
5. Devarajan, Y. (2018). A study of robotic process automation use cases today for tomorrow’s business. International Journal of Computer Techniques, 5(6), 12–18.
6. Fahamsyah, M. H., Mawardi, I., Laila, N., & Shabbir, M. S. (2023). Global Islamic Banking Development: A Review and Bibliometric Analysis Using R-Biblioshiny Application. Muqtasid: Jurnal Ekonomi Dan Perbankan Syariah, 14(1), 69–92.
7. Gavel, Y., & Iselid, L. (2008). Web of Science and Scopus: A journal title overlap study. Online Information Review, 32(1), 8–21.
8. Guleria, D., & Kaur, G. (2021). Bibliometric analysis of ecopreneurship using VOSviewer and RStudio Bibliometrix, 1989–2019. Library Hi Tech, 39(4), 1001–1024. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-09-2020-0218
9. Harzing, A.-W., & Alakangas, S. (2016). Google Scholar, Scopus and the Web of Science: A longitudinal and cross-disciplinary comparison. Scientometrics, 106, 787–804.
10. Huang, J.-H., Duan, X.-Y., He, F.-F., Wang, G.-J., & Hu, X.-Y. (2021). A historical review and Bibliometric analysis of research on Weak measurement research over the past decades based on Biblioshiny. arXiv Preprint arXiv:2108.11375.
11. Jakšič, M., & Marinč, M. (2019). Relationship banking and information technology: The role of artificial intelligence and FinTech. In Risk Management (Vol. 21, Issue 1, pp. 1–18). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41283-018-0039-y
12. Kedziora, D., & Penttinen, E. (2020). Governance models for robotic process automation: The case of Nordea Bank. Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 11(1), 20–29. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043886920937022
13. Kumar, R., Saxena, A., & Singh, R. (2023). Robotic Process Automation Bridge -in Banking Institute and Consumers. 428–431. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICDT57929.2023.10150500
14. Kumar, R., Saxena, S., Kumar, V., Prabha, V., Kumar, R., & Kukreti, A. (2024). Service innovation research: A bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, 34(4), 736–760.
15. Kuzior, A., & Sira, M. (2022). A bibliometric analysis of blockchain technology research using VOSviewer. Sustainability, 14(13), 8206.
16. M. Romao, J. Costa, & C. J. Costa. (2019). Robotic Process Automation: A Case Study in the Banking Industry. 2019 14th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.23919/CISTI.2019.8760733
17. Maček, A., Murg, M., & Čič, Ž. (2020). How Robotic Process Automation is Revolutionizing the Banking Sector. In Managing Customer Experiences in an Omnichannel World: Melody of Online and Offline Environments in the Customer Journey (pp. 271–286). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-388-520201020
18. Mamede, H. S., Gonçalves Martins, C. M., & Mira da Silva, M. (2023). A lean approach to robotic process automation in banking. Heliyon, 9(7). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18041
19. McAllister, J. T., Lennertz, L., & Mojica, Z. A. (2022). Mapping A Discipline: A Guide to Using VOSviewer for Bibliometric and Visual Analysis. Science & Technology Libraries, 41(3), 319–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/0194262X.2021.1991547
20. Nandiyanto, A. B. D., & Al Husaeni, D. F. (2022). Bibliometric analysis of engineering research using vosviewer indexed by google scholar. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 17(2), 883–894.
21. Patri, P. (2021). Robotic process automation: Challenges and solutions for the banking sector. Prateek Patri, Robotic Process Automation: Challenges and Solutions for the Banking Sector, International Journal of Management, 11(12), 2020.
22. Racine, J. S. (2012). RStudio: A platform-independent IDE for R and Sweave. JSTOR.
23. Rashed, A., Alchuban, M., Hamdan, A., & Alareeni, B. (2023). The Impact of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Technology in Banking Sector in Bahrain. 487, 273–281. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08084-5_22
24. Romao, M., Costa, J., & Costa, C. J. (2019). Robotic process automation: A case study in the banking industry. 2019 14th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), 1–6.
25. Salim, N. R., Gopal, K., & Ayub, A. F. M. (2018). Experiential Statistics Learning with RStudio: Study on Students’ Engagement. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1132, Issue 1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1132/1/012039
26. Shanthi, V., & Pavithra, R. (2020). A study relating to the application and use of artificial intelligence in the banking sector. In International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology (Vol. 29, Issue 3 Special Issue, pp. 797–802).
27. Shidaganti, G., Khandelwal, L., Gupta, K., & Vaswani, H. (2023). Challenges in Banking and Solving Them Using RPA. In Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies (Vol. 335, pp. 133–156). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8296-5_6
28. Souza de Cursi, E. (2023). Some Tips to Use R and RStudio. In E. Souza de Cursi (Ed.), Uncertainty Quantification using R (pp. 1–108). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17785-9_1
29. Susilo, A., Prabowo, H., Kosasih, W., Kartono, R., & Utami Tjhin, V. (2021). The Implementation of Robotic Process Automation for Banking Sector Case Study of A Private Bank in Indonesia. 365–371. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1145/3512576.3512641
30. Thangavel, P., & Chandra, B. (2023). Two Decades of M-Commerce Consumer Research: A Bibliometric Analysis Using R Biblioshiny. Sustainability, 15(15), 11835. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511835
31. Thekkethil, M. S., Shukla, V. K., Beena, F., & Chopra, A. (2021). Robotic Process Automation in Banking and Finance Sector for Loan Processing and Fraud Detection. 2021 9th International Conference on Reliability, Infocom Technologies and Optimization (Trends and Future Directions), ICRITO 2021. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRITO51393.2021.9596076
32. Van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3
33. Varfa, R., Khare, U., Gupta, A., & Sharma, G. (2023). Robotic Process Automation: Chatbot integration for task automation (Banking Industry). 2023-June, 648–655. Scopus. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85174301492&partnerID=40&md5=87ef087ab63b614e9e30bc18980c1b1a
34. Villar, A. S., & Khan, N. (2021). Robotic process automation in banking industry: A case study on Deutsche Bank. Journal of Banking and Financial Technology, 5(1), 71–86.
35. Yang, J., Cheng, C., Shen, S., & Yang, S. (2017). Comparison of complex network analysis software: Citespace, SCI 2 and Gephi. 2017 IEEE 2nd International Conference on Big Data Analysis (ICBDA), 169–172.
36. Zhang, M. (2023). Research on Hot Topics and Trends of Tutor’s Guidance Style:Citespace-based Bibliometric Analysis. In ACM International Conference Proceeding Series (pp. 84–91). https://doi.org/10.1145/3591139.3591147

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Salila, B. M., Fulgen, M., Nambiar, K., Kemanabally, A., Sobhanakumary, L., & Thomas, B. (2024). Analyzing the academic discourse on RPA in banking: A bibliometric approach. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 8(3), 2025064. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2025064

[1] Abbas, A. F., Jusoh, A., Masod, A., & Ali, J. (2021). A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications on Social Media Influencers Using Vosviewer. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, 99(23), 5662–5676.

[2] Achuthan, K., Nair, V. K., Kowalski, R., Ramanathan, S., & Raman, R. (2023). Cyberbullying research — Alignment to sustainable development and impact of COVID-19: Bibliometrics and science mapping analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 140, 107566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107566

[3] Alfouzan, R. K., Gopinathan, P. A., Haq, I. U., Iyer, K., Nawab, A. A., Alhumaidan, A., Alfouzan, R. K., Gopinathan Jr, P. A., & Ikram, U. (2023). Bibliometric Evaluation of the 100 Top-Cited Articles on Anesthesiology. Cureus, 15(12). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.50959

[4] Chen, S., Ding, Q., & Liang, K. (2023). Research on Green Port Based on LDA Model and CiteSpace Bibliometric Analysis. In Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering (Vol. 12725). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2679115

[5] Devarajan, Y. (2018). A study of robotic process automation use cases today for tomorrow’s business. International Journal of Computer Techniques, 5(6), 12–18.

[6] Fahamsyah, M. H., Mawardi, I., Laila, N., & Shabbir, M. S. (2023). Global Islamic Banking Development: A Review and Bibliometric Analysis Using R-Biblioshiny Application. Muqtasid: Jurnal Ekonomi Dan Perbankan Syariah, 14(1), 69–92.

[7] Gavel, Y., & Iselid, L. (2008). Web of Science and Scopus: A journal title overlap study. Online Information Review, 32(1), 8–21.

[8] Guleria, D., & Kaur, G. (2021). Bibliometric analysis of ecopreneurship using VOSviewer and RStudio Bibliometrix, 1989–2019. Library Hi Tech, 39(4), 1001–1024. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-09-2020-0218

[9] Harzing, A.-W., & Alakangas, S. (2016). Google Scholar, Scopus and the Web of Science: A longitudinal and cross-disciplinary comparison. Scientometrics, 106, 787–804.

[10] Huang, J.-H., Duan, X.-Y., He, F.-F., Wang, G.-J., & Hu, X.-Y. (2021). A historical review and Bibliometric analysis of research on Weak measurement research over the past decades based on Biblioshiny. arXiv Preprint arXiv:2108.11375.

[11] Jakšič, M., & Marinč, M. (2019). Relationship banking and information technology: The role of artificial intelligence and FinTech. In Risk Management (Vol. 21, Issue 1, pp. 1–18). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41283-018-0039-y

[12] Kedziora, D., & Penttinen, E. (2020). Governance models for robotic process automation: The case of Nordea Bank. Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 11(1), 20–29. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043886920937022

[13] Kumar, R., Saxena, A., & Singh, R. (2023). Robotic Process Automation Bridge -in Banking Institute and Consumers. 428–431. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICDT57929.2023.10150500

[14] Kumar, R., Saxena, S., Kumar, V., Prabha, V., Kumar, R., & Kukreti, A. (2024). Service innovation research: A bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, 34(4), 736–760.

[15] Kuzior, A., & Sira, M. (2022). A bibliometric analysis of blockchain technology research using VOSviewer. Sustainability, 14(13), 8206.

[16] M. Romao, J. Costa, & C. J. Costa. (2019). Robotic Process Automation: A Case Study in the Banking Industry. 2019 14th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.23919/CISTI.2019.8760733

[17] Maček, A., Murg, M., & Čič, Ž. (2020). How Robotic Process Automation is Revolutionizing the Banking Sector. In Managing Customer Experiences in an Omnichannel World: Melody of Online and Offline Environments in the Customer Journey (pp. 271–286). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-388-520201020

[18] Mamede, H. S., Gonçalves Martins, C. M., & Mira da Silva, M. (2023). A lean approach to robotic process automation in banking. Heliyon, 9(7). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18041

[19] McAllister, J. T., Lennertz, L., & Mojica, Z. A. (2022). Mapping A Discipline: A Guide to Using VOSviewer for Bibliometric and Visual Analysis. Science & Technology Libraries, 41(3), 319–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/0194262X.2021.1991547

[20] Nandiyanto, A. B. D., & Al Husaeni, D. F. (2022). Bibliometric analysis of engineering research using vosviewer indexed by google scholar. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 17(2), 883–894.

[21] Patri, P. (2021). Robotic process automation: Challenges and solutions for the banking sector. Prateek Patri, Robotic Process Automation: Challenges and Solutions for the Banking Sector, International Journal of Management, 11(12), 2020.

[22] Racine, J. S. (2012). RStudio: A platform-independent IDE for R and Sweave. JSTOR.

[23] Rashed, A., Alchuban, M., Hamdan, A., & Alareeni, B. (2023). The Impact of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Technology in Banking Sector in Bahrain. 487, 273–281. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08084-5_22

[24] Romao, M., Costa, J., & Costa, C. J. (2019). Robotic process automation: A case study in the banking industry. 2019 14th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), 1–6.

[25] Salim, N. R., Gopal, K., & Ayub, A. F. M. (2018). Experiential Statistics Learning with RStudio: Study on Students’ Engagement. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1132, Issue 1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1132/1/012039

[26] Shanthi, V., & Pavithra, R. (2020). A study relating to the application and use of artificial intelligence in the banking sector. In International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology (Vol. 29, Issue 3 Special Issue, pp. 797–802).

[27] Shidaganti, G., Khandelwal, L., Gupta, K., & Vaswani, H. (2023). Challenges in Banking and Solving Them Using RPA. In Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies (Vol. 335, pp. 133–156). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8296-5_6

[28] Souza de Cursi, E. (2023). Some Tips to Use R and RStudio. In E. Souza de Cursi (Ed.), Uncertainty Quantification using R (pp. 1–108). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17785-9_1

[29] Susilo, A., Prabowo, H., Kosasih, W., Kartono, R., & Utami Tjhin, V. (2021). The Implementation of Robotic Process Automation for Banking Sector Case Study of A Private Bank in Indonesia. 365–371. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1145/3512576.3512641

[30] Thangavel, P., & Chandra, B. (2023). Two Decades of M-Commerce Consumer Research: A Bibliometric Analysis Using R Biblioshiny. Sustainability, 15(15), 11835. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511835

[31] Thekkethil, M. S., Shukla, V. K., Beena, F., & Chopra, A. (2021). Robotic Process Automation in Banking and Finance Sector for Loan Processing and Fraud Detection. 2021 9th International Conference on Reliability, Infocom Technologies and Optimization (Trends and Future Directions), ICRITO 2021. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRITO51393.2021.9596076

[32] Van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3

[33] Varfa, R., Khare, U., Gupta, A., & Sharma, G. (2023). Robotic Process Automation: Chatbot integration for task automation (Banking Industry). 2023-June, 648–655. Scopus. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85174301492&partnerID=40&md5=87ef087ab63b614e9e30bc18980c1b1a

[34] Villar, A. S., & Khan, N. (2021). Robotic process automation in banking industry: A case study on Deutsche Bank. Journal of Banking and Financial Technology, 5(1), 71–86.

[35] Yang, J., Cheng, C., Shen, S., & Yang, S. (2017). Comparison of complex network analysis software: Citespace, SCI 2 and Gephi. 2017 IEEE 2nd International Conference on Big Data Analysis (ICBDA), 169–172.

[36] Zhang, M. (2023). Research on Hot Topics and Trends of Tutor’s Guidance Style:Citespace-based Bibliometric Analysis. In ACM International Conference Proceeding Series (pp. 84–91). https://doi.org/10.1145/3591139.3591147

Abstract

References

How to cite