Digital transformation is one of many initiatives that could be considered a common
strategy to overcome disruption issues in many companies, industries, and organizations.
Initiating the digital transformation will maintain companies’ performance, efficiency, and
compliance. An essential factor of digital transformation is technology. The emergence of
various digital technologies brings possibilities to initiate the digital transformation journey.
One of those emerging technologies is Robotic Process Automation. This research aimed to
conduct a comprehensive literature review by adopting Kitchenham and PRISMA procedures.
Forty-two pieces of literature from seven databases were analyzed bibliometrically and
qualitatively to determine the trends and roles of Robotic Process Automation in digital
transformation and the extent to which it can be utilized. This study has contributed
theoretically and practically to the community. Theoretically, the trend of Robotic Process
Automation in digital transformation research since its emergence up until now has been
identified. It gives a baseline for future researchers to start another study and will reduce the
knowledge gap between industry and academic research. Practically, this study provides many
insights for the practitioners and enterprises on how Robotic Process Automation can be
utilized to enhance their digital workforce. Best practices and success factors have been
summarized from some areas of implementation. This technology is considered an important
new technology to be utilized in a digital transformation initiative. However, it can be
appropriately used under certain circumstances and conditions, as reported in detail in this
article.