PurposeRobotic Process Automation (RPA) is a digital transformation tool that demonstrated tremendous growth in research output as well as its application in the past decade. This study attempts to identify essential research gaps and proposes future research agendas in the field by analyzing publishing trends, major stakeholders (authors, countries, affiliations, journals), key clusters and evolving themes by mapping the most recent research (2016–2022) in the field.Design/methodology/approachPreferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) was used to retrieve a total of 244 publications from the Web of Science (WOS) database for this analysis. The study then uses the open-source R program bibliometrix to conduct bibliometric analysis. A variety of tools and methods including collaboration network, word dynamics, co-occurrence network, thematic map and strategy map were utilized.FindingsThe analysis reveals the most influential stakeholders (country: the USA, author: Arai K, affiliation: Christ Deemed University), main clusters of intellectual structure (process mining, digital transformation, blockchain, information systems) and the evolution of themes (model innovation, artificial intelligence, big-data, design science and user acceptance) in the subject.Originality/valueThis study uses bibliometric analysis to provide a comprehensive overview of RPA literature which unravels the conceptual structure of the stream and proposes a research agenda for the future. Based on the growth of themes and the strategy map, this study may assist entrepreneurs and practitioners in determining field priorities for strategizing process innovation.

The movement control order (MCO) and conditional movement control order (CMCO), also known as the partial lockdown imposed on Malaysian as a result of Covid-19 pandemic has affected mental health, and consumerism. Spending too much time online, feeling unhappy and weary by staying at home too long may negatively affect buying tendency during the pandemic period. A low online buying tendency may cause firms' profits to decrease. Therefore, this study aims to examine the influence of consumers' time availability, state of happiness, and level of weariness on their tendency to buy online during Covid-19 partial lockdown. The study uses a convenience sampling method and collected 236 responses to the survey. The data was analysed using a multiple regression. The findings highlight that time availability does not influence online impulse buying tendency, while happiness, and weariness significantly affect online impulse buying tendency. Specifically, the study found that moderate happiness and a low level of weariness influenced consumers' tendency to buy online. The study contributes to providing insights for firms and marketers to understand consumers' psychological states during the pandemic which could be used as a basis to develop strategies on suitable advertising medium and content.

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Cash conversion cycle (CCC) is a performance-based measure for determining how well a company manages its working capital. Effective management of working capital will enhance a company's performance and enable it to accomplish its profitability objectives. Even though there have been a few studies on CCC in the past, CCC research has grown in importance. This is because the CCC in any business may have evolved over time. The goal of this study is to present a conceptual framework for analysing the CCC and firm performance, as well as their relationship. The measurement of CCC, which is Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO), and Days Payables Outstanding (DPO), are independent variables, whereas the firm's performance is measured by return on asset (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). This research contributes to the current knowledge on the correlation between the CCC and firm performance.

Entrepreneurs play an important role in the economy's development. Compared to men, a higher number of women are becoming entrepreneurs. There is a commensurate interest in examining who these women are, what motivates them to become business owners, and what influences their economic success. This paper explores the motivational factors faced by female entrepreneurs as they grow their home-based business (HBB). The research has been conducted via interviews with women entrepreneurs that are involved in HBB, which is located in the Klang Valley area in Malaysia. Results show that women owning and managing HBBs are motivated to grow their business through intrinsic motivations, including a need for independence and a need for achievement. They are also motivated by extrinsic motivations, which are financial issues, fame, and positive feedback from others. The result of this study will help all women entrepreneurs in HBB to always grow and to educate every family, society, and institutions to always support them. This paper also adds to the theory of what motivates people to start their own businesses and to research on what motivates people to grow.