The effects of Industry 4.0 technologies and data-driven decision-making on operational performance: Evidence from US and Italian survey data

After years spent conceptualizing Industry 4.0, it is now possible to assess its impact on operational performance, as it is finally becoming measurable – especially in an industry, such as the automotive, characterized by rapid technological and managerial innovation. Identified two main subsets of digital technologies, this article discusses their interplay with different decision-making approaches in achieving cost reduction, using the results of a unique cross-country survey of more than one hundred US and Italian auto-supplier firms. By exploring the link between digitalization, data, and decision-making, this study contributes to literatures of technological change and knowledge management. Also, based on the findings, concrete recommendations are offered to managers that aim to improve cost performance in digitalized firms, maximizing the benefits of Industry 4.0 adoption, and to policy makers in education, who are called to urgently update (or create) curricula that prepare operational workers and managers for the challenges of datadriven decision-making.