A Study on the Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Big Data on Human Resources in Italian Companies

The Fourth Industrial Revolution poses new challenges and increasing market competition for human resources required with new skills. This chapter examines the impact of Big Data on Human Resources in 38 companies and 3 universities in the Emilia-Romagna region. Companies were divided into two main groups: leading companies in the region that use or produce Big Data and Analytics and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies that offer services related to Big Data. Through interviews and questionnaires, it was possible to identify certain challenges faced by companies and territorial strategies required to improve the skills and retain their human resources. This includes the need to channel and adequately blend tacit knowledge with the new codified knowledge born out of the enabling technologies, to increase employee loyalty and membership towards the company to minimize attrition to competition.