12. Robotic process automation: implementation in a multi-municipal water supply and sanitation company

Martins, A., Silva, A. P., Gomes, D., & Cruz, D. (2025). Robotic process automation: implementation in a multi-municipal water supply and sanitation company. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-09-2024-0182This study analyzes the implementation of Project Sophia, a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) initiative at Águas do Norte S.A. (AdN), a Portuguese public water and sanitation utility. The research aims to understand why a public-sector organization adopted RPA and how the process unfolded under the influence of internal and external actors. Launched in 2019, Project Sophia generated 26 subprojects between 2019 and 2024, mainly in administrative and financial areas, with 12 processes successfully automated by March 2024. Adoption was driven by institutional pressures, including coercive demands for regulatory compliance, normative influences from New Public Management principles, and mimetic pressures from successful RPA implementations elsewhere. Implementation followed an institutional work perspective, highlighting the agency of key actors such as the IT director, project manager, and external consultants. Despite challenges related to public procurement rules, budget constraints, system rigidity, and staff turnover, the project delivered significant benefits in efficiency, data accuracy, compliance, and the reallocation of employees toward higher-value analytical tasks.