Labour shortages and rising cost pressure force organisations to seek scalable solutions beyond traditional workforce strategies. This study examines automation not as a purely technical tool but as an institutional stress test. Combining institutional economics with empirical secondary data, it integrates national vacancy statistics (1.7 million unfilled positions, vacancy rate > 45 %), SME-specific findings and expert interviews across IT, manufacturing and healthcare. The results show that automation delivers measurable cost efficiency only where clear governance structures and defined decision paths exist. A comparative analysis using Eurostat and OECD data highlights the mediating role of institutional quality at both organisational and national levels. The study concludes that digital transformation’s success depends less on technical sophistication than on institutional robustness. Keywords: Automation, Governance, Institutional Economics, Labour Shortage, Cost Efficiency, Contract Management, Organisational Resilience, Digital Transformation
Moch et al. (Fri,) studied this question.