| TITLE | Evidence of AI and generative AI adoption in Italian firms |
| PUBLICATION | MIB Trieste - White Paper |
| SUBJECT | Artificial Intelligence & Big Data |
| DATE | March 2024 |
| AUTHORS | Francesco Venier, Grazia Garlatti Costa, Roberto Pugliese |
| TITOLO | Evidence of AI and generative AI adoption in Italian firms |
| PUBBLICAZIONE | MIB Trieste - White Paper |
| AREA | Artificial Intelligence & Big Data |
| DATA | Marzo 2024 |
| AUTORI | Francesco Venier, Grazia Garlatti Costa, Roberto Pugliese |
This research paper provides a thorough exploration into the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within Italian businesses at the beginning of 2024, detailing the extent of AI integration, its effectiveness, the readiness of companies, and the impact on the workforce. The study surveyed a diverse group of 237 respondents, encompassing a range of positions from C-level executives to technical specialists across various sectors, including manufacturing, IT services, healthcare, and finance. The companies represented in the survey vary in size from small startups to large multinational corporations, offering a comprehensive view of AI's penetration and influence across different business models and scales.
The initial findings highlight that AI integration varies significantly across departments, with a notable number of companies engaging as end-users of AI technologies. These applications span from operational efficiency improvements to innovation in product and service offerings.
The paper reports a positive trend towards increased AI investment, with a majority of companies planning to enhance their AI budget allocations, demonstrating the strategic importance attributed to AI in the Italian business context.
However, the journey towards AI integration is not without its challenges. The research identifies critical hurdles such as data availability and structuring issues, a significant skills gap, and the absence of clear use cases for AI deployment. Despite these obstacles, there's a prevailing optimism about AI's capability to positively impact the workforce, with expectations leaning towards job creation rather than displacement.
The research advocates for a multi-faceted approach to AI adoption, emphasizing the need for cross-functional AI initiatives, the establishment of specialized AI teams, and the crucial role of AI in fostering creativity and enhancing operational processes. It also underscores the importance of ethical considerations and stringent data quality management in navigating the complexities of AI adoption. Through this analytical lens, the paper presents a nuanced understanding of the transformative potential and challenges of AI in the Italian corporate sphere, offering strategic insights for businesses navigating the evolving landscape of digital innovation.
Francesco Venier
Francesco Venier is the Dean for Executive Education of MIB Trieste School of Management, where he is also Senior Lecturer of Organization and HR.
Francesco is also Professor of Organization at the University of Trieste and has extensive teaching experience in Universities and Business Schools around the world.
His research interests focus on the relationship between organization and technology and range from digital transformation, data driven organization, decentralization, workplace evolution, performance management and agile organizations, topics on which he has published in peer reviewed journals such as Management and Development and Organization and books (or book chapters) for publishers such as IGI global, EUT, Franco Angeli and ESTE.
He is co-founder of Lungo Raggio Srl, an academic spin-off aimed at valorizing young talents through the provision of specialized professional services to large companies
→ Publications
Grazia Garlatti Costa
Grazia Garlatti Costa, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Studies at the University of Trieste. She holds a Ph.D. in Managerial and Actuarial sciences from the University of Udine. She is a member of the Guarantee Committee for Equal Opportunities (CUG) and the Interdepartmental Center for Gender Studies (CIRSG) at the University of Trieste.
Her teaching areas encompass Organizational Studies and Human Resources Management.
Her research interests span work-life balance, employee well-being, female leadership, gender equity, creativity and innovation management in organizations, and the impacts of artificial intelligence.
She has published in several peer-reviewed journals, including the European Journal of Innovation Management and Management Research Review.
Roberto Pugliese
Roberto Pugliese is Deputy General Coordinator, Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A.; President & Co-founder at LYL Projects Srl (Italy).He is a PhD in managerial and actuarial sciences with a focus on innovation management and the growth of start-up firms. He is a computer scientist with an MBA, a PMP certified project manager. He is Deputy General Coordinator of Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, where he is also coordinating the IT Group.
Roberto is currently teaching Project Management at MIB Trieste School of Management and at SISSA and he co-founded two companies: Tripole Scientific S.r.l and LyL-Projects S.r.l.
Main areas of teaching expertise & research fields:
Scientific Computing, Robotics, Management Control, Balanced Score Cards, Project Management, Time Management, Personal Development, Innovation Management, Start-ups, Big Data and Machine Learning.
