The emergence of Industry 5.0: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Purpose - Alongside the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and related concepts, such as internet of things (IoT), big data, digital transformation, cyber-physical systems (CPS), improved visualization, analytics and smart machine (among others) a novel approach evolved positing a more human centered revolution, focused on human machine collaboration and considering Society as a whole impacting and being impacted by such challenges - Industry 5.0 (I5.0). This paper aims to present a bibliometric analysis conducted on the topic of Industry 5.0, as the basis for a subsequent and forthcoming work of systematic literature review (SLR). Design/methodology/approach - This article presents a bibliometric analysis performed by using the software Bibliometrix and Microsoft Excel, considering selected and relevant papers indexed to Scopus and Web of Science databases queried adopting the string “Industry 5.0”. This primary analysis helps to understand the scenario of I5.0, considering three main research questions: “Which are the boundaries between Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0?”; “What is the definition of Industry 5.0?”; “Which are the main topics, authors and sources that have published on Industry 5.0?”. Findings - After filtering, the analysis yielded a total of 103 bibliographic sources, accounting for 50% of them being journal articles, published during the past year. More than 40% of the papers have a strong relation to I5.0, and the results suggest the existence of several clusters of sub-topics that are being addressed by the academic researchers on this scientific domain. Originality/value - This bibliometric analysis may help to disclose and uncover some patterns and outline some forthcoming research avenues.