Defense of Thesis in International Business, Valentina Voimavuo, M.Sc.

Title of the thesis: Many facets of job autonomy in self-managing organizations. Opportunity, burden, or cheese in a mousetrap?

Thesis defender: Valentina Voimavuo
Opponent: Prof. Marjo Siltaoja, University of Jyväskylä
Custos: Prof. Alexei Koveshnikov, Aalto University School of Business 

Freedom has long been a focus of many academic fields. It has been studied from various perspectives and angles, including the job autonomy perspective. Nevertheless, the topic remains as relevant today as ever, as more and more organizations provide employees with greater job autonomy, i.e., higher discretion to decide where, how, and when to work. In addition, in some organizations, such as self-managing ones, job autonomy reaches radical levels and managers' role becomes focused on coaching rather than oversight. In such companies, employees don’t just decide how to execute tasks, they can also decide what the job includes, how resources are used, and even how performance is measured. 

At the same time, we have little understanding of how such levels of job autonomy affect employees and organizations. This dissertation addresses this gap by focusing on three questions: how employees experience job autonomy and what shapes that experience; how autonomy affects people and organizations across different levels of self-management; and how organizational language and wider social pressures push employees to take on more responsibility under the discourse of higher autonomy and freedom. These questions are answered through three studies: a qualitative case study of one self-managing company, a survey of 149 Finnish firms, and a critical reading of company culture handbooks. This mix allows analysis at individual, organizational, and societal levels.

Findings show autonomy brings freedom, but also some pressures. For individuals, it often increases workload, mental effort, and emotional strain as many responsibilities handled by managers have shifted to individual employees, increasing the amount and intensity of their work. Autonomy helps when people have enough skills, time, and energy, and when organizational support is clear, easy to access, and arrives when needed. Culture matters: even without direct orders, values and peer norms can push people to keep working hard, making them persist despite strain.

At the organizational level, autonomy works when decision rights match capabilities. Broad autonomy requires strong self-management skills, clear coordination, transparent information sharing, and fair conflict resolution. Without these, autonomy can create confusion, delays, and friction.

At the societal level, an achievement-focused discourse and repeated shocks (such as pandemics or crises) expand autonomy while shifting responsibility and pressure onto employees. Here, autonomy is used as a way to attract employees and motivate them to perform more responsibilities, i.e., autonomy serves as cheese in a mousetrap, attracting employees and trapping them in rigid but less obvious control. 

Theoretically, the dissertation shows autonomy can be both a benefit and a burden, depending on personal resources and the timing and accessibility of support. It demonstrates that autonomy can expand opportunities or hinder them if capabilities and support are lacking. It also highlights a shift toward subtler forms of control, where culture and norms, not just directives, shape behavior and responsibility. 

In short, autonomy can boost performance and well-being, but only when matched with capabilities, timely support, and proper structures.

Key words: job autonomy, normative control, self-managing organizations

Thesis available for public display 7 days prior to the defence at Aalto University's public display page. 

Contact information: 

Valentina Voimavuo, valentina.voimavuo@aalto.fi

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/valentinavoimavuo