Institutional Transformation of Management Systems in the Era of Intelligent Automation: A Grounded Theory Study

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a grounded theory model explaining how intelligent automation transforms institutionalized management systems, decision authority, organizational routines, and managerial legitimacy in organizations operating in Tehran. This qualitative study used a grounded theory design to explore the institutional transformation of management systems under conditions of intelligent automation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 22 participants from Tehran, including senior managers, middle managers, digital transformation specialists, human resource managers, process automation experts, and organizational consultants working in technology-intensive, service, financial, manufacturing, and public-sector organizations. Participants were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling based on their direct experience with automation-enabled managerial change. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached after the nineteenth interview, followed by three additional interviews to confirm category stability. Data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding with the support of NVivo software. The findings produced a grounded conceptual model centered on the core category of institutional reconfiguration of management systems through intelligent automation. Four main categories explained this process: algorithmic restructuring of managerial authority, institutionalization of data-driven governance, redesign of human–automation work systems, and legitimacy tensions in automated management. Participants described intelligent automation not merely as a technical tool but as a force that changed the meaning of managerial judgment, redistributed decision rights, standardized organizational routines, and created new expectations of transparency, speed, and evidence-based control. The model suggests that institutional transformation occurs when automation moves from task-level efficiency improvement to rule-making, monitoring, evaluation, and strategic coordination within management systems. The study concludes that intelligent automation transforms management systems through a gradual but profound institutional process in which authority, routines, accountability, and legitimacy are reconstructed around algorithmic capabilities. The findings contribute to institutional theory, digital transformation research, and management systems studies by showing that automation does not simply replace human managerial activity; rather, it changes the institutional conditions under which management is defined, justified, and practiced. The proposed grounded theory model highlights the need for organizations to develop governance mechanisms, managerial capabilities, ethical safeguards, and participatory redesign processes that preserve human judgment while benefiting from intelligent automation.