Employees’ autonomy in data-driven decision-making: an empirical analysis of Italian firms

Digital transformation (DT) has steadily permeated industries and markets, becoming increasingly pervasive. DT spurs a fundamental shift in corporate decision-making, moving from intuition and heuristics to an analytical, data-driven decision-making (DDD) approach. While several studies uncover a positive relationship between DDD and firm performance, a comprehensive understanding of the drivers underpinning the systematic and effective use of data in decision-making is still lacking. Earlier research pointed out the role of factors such as the adoption of new digital technologies, the implementation of structured management practices, and the investment in complementary assets like human capital. This short paper contributes to this line of inquiry by exploring how different types of work autonomy favor the effective use of DDD, especially when DDD is used to promote innovation. Our study reports the findings of an ongoing research project that investigates the adoption of DDD among firms operating in Lombardy, one of the most industrialized and innovative Italian regions. Preliminary results suggest that firms adopting an innovation-oriented DDD are more likely to grant a higher level of strategic autonomy to their workers compared with firms adopting DDD for other goals, such as increasing efficiency.