Companies must use data more responsibly and transparently

"We will take a closer look at how we humans, as consumers and employees, understand digitalisation and data and how motivated we are to learn new things”, says Kristina Heinonen, Professor of Marketing at Hanken School of Economics.

The project ”The Data Paradox: Aligning Digitalization and Data Policies for Consumer and Employee Well-Being” is a collaboration between Hanken School of Economics and the CTF Service Research Centre at Karlstad University and runs until December 2026. The Peter Wallenberg Foundation for Economics and Technology has donated approximately 188,000 euros to Hanken for the project.

"Of course, digitalisation makes our everyday life easier in many ways as we have more information and can communicate better. At the same time, it brings challenges: who owns all the data, for what purposes is the information used and how can we influence how the data is used”, says Heinonen.

The project targets, among others, the healthcare industry and knowledge-intensive companies, such as IT and innovation companies. A key objective of the project is to develop a strategic management tool that enables companies to improve their data management practices based on consumer and employee perceptions of data.

“Organisations have the opportunity to improve their services thanks to new technologies, but can employees embrace the tools and opportunities available to provide the promised service? The aim of the project is to measure employees' technology skills and find out how ready they are to use different forms of data in their work as it affects their well-being”, Heinonen explains. 

Read more about the project here: 
The Data Paradox: Aligning Digitalization and Data Policies for Consumer and Employee Well-Being