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Workers' intervention authority in Italian 4.0 factories: autonomy and discretion

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  • Valeria Cirillo
  • Matteo Rinaldini
  • Jacopo Staccioli
  • Maria Enrica Virgillito

Abstract

The present contribution aims at investigating the relationship between the introduction of Industry 4.0 technological innovations and the ensuing implications for workers' skills composition, their empowerment, and their authority of intervention in the work process, within three Italian firms exhibiting a wide range of organisational practices: from Japanese Toyotism, to a mix of Taylorism and co-determination, up to the example most akin to the German 'Mitbestimmung'. By distinguishing between the notions of discretion and autonomy in identifying the spheres of workers' intervention authority, our findings corroborate the presence of hybrid workforce empowerment, reflected into an increase of workers' discretionary intervention, and the lack of a similar increase in terms of autonomy, the latter meant as the possibility of establishing their own routines.

Suggested Citation

  • Valeria Cirillo & Matteo Rinaldini & Jacopo Staccioli & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2018. "Workers' intervention authority in Italian 4.0 factories: autonomy and discretion," LEM Papers Series 2018/13, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2018/13
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Armanda Cetrulo & Dario Guarascio & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2020. "Anatomy of the Italian occupational structure: concentrated power and distributed knowledge," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 29(6), pages 1345-1379.
    2. Montobbio, Fabio & Staccioli, Jacopo & Virgillito, Maria Enrica & Vivarelli, Marco, 2022. "Robots and the origin of their labour-saving impact," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    3. Lucrezia Fanti & Dario Guarascio & Massimo Moggi, 2020. "The development of AI and its impact on business models, organization and work," LEM Papers Series 2020/25, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    4. Valeria Cirillo & José Molero Zayas, 2019. "Digitalizing industry? Labor, technology and work organization: an introduction to the Forum," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 46(3), pages 313-321, September.
    5. Angelo Moro & Matteo Rinaldini & Jacopo Staccioli & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2019. "Control in the era of surveillance capitalism: an empirical investigation of Italian Industry 4.0 factories," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 46(3), pages 347-360, September.

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    Keywords

    Industry 4.0; Technological Paradigms; Organisational Change; Lean Systems; Autonomy; Discretion;
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