Adoption of AI-empowered industrial robots in auto component manufacturing companies

Abstract

The usage of AI-empowered Industrial Robots (InRos) is booming in the Auto Component Manufacturing Companies (ACMCs) across the globe. Based on a model leveraging the Technology, Organisation, and Environment (TOE) framework, this work examines the adoption of InRos in ACMCs in the context of an emerging economy. This research scrutinises the adoption intention and potential use of InRos in ACMCs through a survey of 460 senior managers and owners of ACMCs in India. The findings indicate that perceived compatibility, external pressure, perceived benefits and support from vendors are critical predictors of InRos adoption intention. Interestingly, the study also reveals that IT infrastructure and government support do not influence InRos adoption intention. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that perceived cost issues negatively moderate the relationship between the adoption intention and potential use of InRos in ACMCs. This study offers a theoretical contribution as it deploys the traditional TOE framework and discovers counter-intuitively that IT resources are not a major driver of technology adoption: as such, it suggests that a more comprehensive framework than the traditional RBV should be adopted. The work provides managerial recommendations for managers, shedding light on the antecedents of adoption intention and potential use of InRos at ACMCs in a country where the adoption of InRos is in a nascent stage.

Keywords:

• Industrial robots
• auto component manufacturing
• adoption
• potential use
• TOE

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rajasshrie Pillai

Rajasshrie Pillai is a Professor and HOD of Human Resource Management at Pune Institute of Business Management, Pune Maharashtra, India. She is a life member of Indian Society of Training and Development (ISTD) and National HRD network (NHRD). Her current research interests include information systems, technology adoption, education management, HR analytics, AI, IoT and its applications across various industries. Her researches have been published in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Benchmarking, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, International Journal of Educational Management and International Journal of Organizational Analysis.

Brijesh Sivathanu

Brijesh Sivathanu is a Professor in the department of Management at Sri Balaji University, Pune, Maharashtra, India. He is a life member of All India Management Association (AIMA), Computer Society of India (CSI), Indian Society for Technology Education (ISTE), Indian Commerce Association (ICA), Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) and Analytics Society of India (ASI). His current research interests include marketing analytics, information systems, technology adoption, AI, IoT and its applications across services industries. His researches have been published in International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Benchmarking: An International Journal, and more.

Marcello Mariani

Marcello Mariani is a Full Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Henley Business School, University of Reading UK and member of the Henley Center for Entrepreneurship, the Academy of Management and the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management. His current research interests include Industry 4.0 technologies (including Big Data, Analytics, AI, IoT, Robots), digital business models and digital entrepreneurship, eWOM, customer satisfaction, consumer behavior, inter-organizational relationships, performance measurement. His research has been published in leading academic journals such as Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Industrial and Corporate Change, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Long Range Planning, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Travel Research, European Accounting Review, and more.

Nripendra P. Rana

Nripendra P. Rana is a Professor in Digital Marketing and the Head of International Business, Marketing and Branding at the School of Management at University of Bradford, UK. His current research interests focus on the adoption of emerging and disruptive technologies, digital and social media marketing, Internet of Things (IoT), customer online purchase intention etc. His work has been published in leading academic journals such as European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Information Systems Frontiers, Government Information Quarterly, Computers in Human Behavior, Information Technology & People, and more. He also holds certification and fellowship including PGCtHE and SFHEA.

Bai Yang

Bai Yang is a Professor and the Dean of School of Business Administration and the Director of MBA Education Center of Chongqing Technology and Business University, the Dean of Comprehensive Research Institute of Chongqing Free Trade Zone, and the Director of Chongqing Enterprise Research Center of Chongqing Humanities and Social Sciences Base, His main research field lies in enterprise management and digital transformation. As the project holder, he implemented over 30 projects, including the national and international ones. As the first or correspondent author, he published more than 50 papers in the international and domestic important academic journals. Besides, he published eight academic monographs.

Yogesh K. Dwivedi

Yogesh K. Dwivedi is a Professor of Digital Marketing and Innovation, Director of the Emerging Markets Research Centre, and the Dean of Academic Leadership at Swansea University UK. His research interests are in the area of Information Systems including digital and social media marketing particularly in the context of emerging markets. He has published more than 250 articles in a range of leading academic journals and conferences. He is an Editor of International Journal of Information Management. He is an Associate Editor of European Journal of Marketing and Government Information Quarterly and Senior Editor of Journal of Electronic Commerce Research.