Automation and augmentation in professional services: Exploring the impact of financial self-service technology

Abstract Despite the rise of increasingly smart technologies in professional services, financial services firms require clear strategies for integrating automation, augmentation, and hybrid service models alongside human workers. This paper employs a qualitative approach to explore the considerations necessary for adopting robo-advisors (RAs) in self-service investment management and the actions required to support their integration. The findings show how self-service technology (SST) such as RAs at the intersection of customer and worker can enable automation and augmentation simultaneously. Overall, six factors are identified across technical, organisational, and external dimensions that guide firms in determining when, where and how to effectively adopt RAs as an integral part of financial services. For each factor, we present specific firm-level actions to achieve successful service automation and augmentation. As such, this research contributes to a holistic approach to digital transformation at large and service automation in particular by proposing hybrid service models that leverage SST.