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Industry 4.0 has put forward a smart perspective on managing supply chain networks and their operations. The current manufacturing system is primarily data-driven. Industries are deploying new emerging technologies in their operations to build a competitive edge in the business environment; however, the true potential of smart manufacturing has not yet been fully unveiled. This research aims to extensively analyse emerging technologies and their interconnection with smart manufacturing in developing smarter supply chains.

This research endeavours to establish a conceptual framework for a smart supply chain. A real case study on a smart factory is conducted to demonstrate the validity of this framework for building smarter supply chains. A comparative analysis is carried out between conventional and smart supply chains to ascertain the advantages of smart supply chains. In addition, a thorough investigation of the several factors needed to transition from smart to smarter supply chains is undertaken.

The integration of smart technology exemplifies the ability to improve the efficiency of supply chain operations. Research findings indicate that transitioning to a smart factory radically enhances productivity, quality assurance, data privacy and labour efficiency. The outcomes of this research will help academic and industrial sectors critically comprehend technological breakthroughs and their applications in smart supply chains.

This study highlights the implications of incorporating smart technologies into supply chain operations, specifically in smart purchasing, smart factory operations, smart warehousing and smart customer performance. A paradigm transition from conventional, smart to smarter supply chains offers a comprehensive perspective on the evolving dynamics in automation, optimisation and manufacturing technology domains, ultimately leading to the emergence of Industry 5.0.

Manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are heading towards smart manufacturing despite growing challenges caused by globalisation and rapid technological advancement. These SMEs, particularly textile SMEs of Bangladesh, also face challenges in implementing sustainability and organisational ambidexterity (OA) due to resource constraints and limitations of conventional leadership styles. Adopting paradoxical leadership (PL) and entrepreneurial bricolage (EB) is important to overcome the challenges. However, these dynamics are less explored in academia, especially in the Bangladeshi textile SMEs context. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the adoption of smart technologies (ASTs), PL and OA, EB on sustainable performance (SP) of textile SMEs in Bangladesh.

A cross-sectional and primary quantitative survey was conducted. Data from 361 textile SMEs were collected using a structured self-administrated questionnaire and analysed by partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The statistical outcome confirms that ASTs and PL significantly influence SP and OA. OA plays a significant mediating role for PL and is insignificant for ASTs, and EB significantly moderates among ASTs, PL and SP.

As this study is cross-sectional and focussed on a single city (Dhaka, Bangladesh), conducting longitudinal studies and considering other parts of the country can provide exciting findings.

This research provides valuable insights for policymakers, management and textile SMEs in developing and developed countries. By adopting unique and innovative OA, PL and EB approaches, manufacturing SMEs, especially textile companies, can be more sustainable.

This study has a novel, pioneering contribution, as it empirically validates the role of multiple constructs such as AST, PL, OA and EB towards SP in the context of textile SMEs in a developing country like Bangladesh.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a hand disease caused by the pressing of the median nerve present in the palmar side of the wrist. It causes severe pain in the wrist, triggering disturbance during sleep. Different products like splints, braces and gloves are available in the market to alleviate this disease but there was still a need to improve the wearability, comfort and cost of the product. This study was about designing a comfortable and cost-effective wearable system for mild-to-moderate CTS. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) therapy has been used to reduce the pain in the wrist.

After simulation by using Proteus software (which allowed the researchers to draw and simulate electrical circuits using ISIS, ARES and PCB design tools virtually), the circuit with optimum frequency, i.e. 33 Hz was selected, and the circuit was developed on a printed circuit board (PCB). The developed circuit was integrated successfully into the half glove structure.

The developed product had good thermophysiological comfort and hand properties as compared to the commercially available product of the same kind. In vivo testing (It involves the testing with living subjects like animals, plants or human beings) was performed which resulted in 85% confirmed viability of the product against CTS. A glove with an integrated circuit was developed successfully to accommodate various sizes without any sex specifications in a cost-effective way to mitigate the issue of CTS.

Industrial workers, individuals frequently using their hands or those diagnosed with CTS may wish to use this product as therapy. The attention could not be paid to the aesthetic or visual appeal of the developed product.

A very comfortable glove with integrated TENS electrodes was developed successfully to accommodate various sizes without any sex specifications in a cost-effective way to mitigate the issues of CTS.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different manufacturing technologies are bundled together and how these bundles influence operations performance and, indirectly, business performance. With the emergence of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies, manufacturing companies can use a wide variety of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) to build an efficient and effective production system. Nevertheless, the literature offers little guidance on how these technologies, including novel I4.0 technologies, should be combined in practice and how these combinations might have a different impact on performance.

Using a survey study of 165 manufacturing plants from 11 different countries, we use factor analysis to empirically derive three distinct manufacturing technology bundles and structural equation modeling to quantify their relationship with operations and business performance.

Our findings support an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary perspective. I4.0 technologies build on traditional manufacturing technologies and do not constitute a separate direction that would point towards a fundamental digital transformation of companies within our sample. Performance effects are rather weak: out of the three technology bundles identified, only “automation and robotization” have a positive influence on cost efficiency, while “base technologies” and “data-enabled technologies” do not offer a competitive advantage, neither in terms of cost nor in terms of differentiation. Furthermore, while the business performance impact is positive, it is quite weak, suggesting that financial returns on technology investments might require longer time periods.

Relying on a complementarity approach, our research offers a novel perspective on technology implementation in the I4.0 era by investigating novel and traditional manufacturing technologies together.

This paper aims to investigate the influence of health beliefs and trust by senior adults as associated with the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, for the acceptance of smart technology with a focus on smartwatch technology.

Structural equation modeling is used to conceptualize the model using survey data collected from 243 randomly selected senior adults 60+ years of age.

This paper presents that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust and health belief are direct and indirect predictors of senior adults’ technology acceptance and intention to use smartwatch technology.

The study reveals the moderator effect of social influence on relation between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and intention to use. The authors highlight the effect of health belief and trust on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use and the role of intention to use smartwatch technology.

The authors contribute bridging developers of health technologists and senior adults as end-user perspectives. For marketing of health-care technology products, specifically smartwatch, to seniors, a focus on health beliefs and trust is essential to build, maintain and improve perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use.

The present study contributes empirical evidence to the literature on factors affecting the acceptance of the smartwatch technology by senior adults.

The study seeks to understand the possible opportunities that Industry 5.0 might offer for various aspects of inclusive sustainability. The study aims to discuss existing perspectives on the classification of Industry 5.0 technologies and their underlying role in materializing the sustainability values of this agenda.

The study systematically reviewed Industry 5.0 literature based on the PRISMA protocol. The study further employed a detailed content-centric review of eligible documents and conducted evidence mapping to fulfill the research objectives.

The advancement of Industry 5.0 is currently underway, with noteworthy initial contributions enriching its knowledge base. Although a unanimous definition remains lacking, diverse viewpoints emerge concerning the recognition of fundamental technologies and the potential for yielding sustainable outcomes. The expected contribution of Industry 5.0 to sustainability varies significantly depending on the context and the nature of underlying technologies.

Industry 5.0 holds the potential for advancing sustainability at both the firm and supply chain levels. It is envisioned to contribute proportionately to the three sustainability dimensions. However, the current discourse primarily dwells in theoretical and conceptual domains, lacking empirical exploration of its practical implications.

This study comprehensively explores diverse perspectives on Industry 5.0 technologies and their potential contributions to economic, environmental and social sustainability. Despite its promise, the practical evidence supporting the effectiveness of Industry 5.0 remains limited. Certain conditions are necessary to realize the benefits of Industry 5.0 fully, yet the mechanisms behind these conditions require further investigation. In this regard, the study suggests several potential areas for future research.

The study aims to explore digital transformation from the viewpoint of human resource management to uncover possible threads of relationship using bibliometric analysis. It also aims to identify the trending research themes within the domains of digital transformation (DT) and human resource management (HRM) collectively.

The research employs a mix of quantitative bibliometric techniques and qualitative content analysis. A corpus of 227 articles retrieved from the Scopus database was analyzed using the R-based Biblioshiny and VOS viewer.

The study shows publication trends, influential authors, leading journals, highly productive institutions, and, countries in the domain of DT and HRM. Co-citation and co-occurrence analysis was undertaken to identify the research clusters, depicting trending research themes that extensively dominate the research under this domain.

This study will serve as a ready reckoner for academicians and business leaders, giving them useful insights to make their road towards digital transformation less challenging with the assistance of human capital.

This study is one of the initial efforts to quantitatively synthesize the results of earlier publications using bibliometric techniques in the domain of DT and HRM together. It will aid researchers in locating research gaps and filling those gaps in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution of big data in the transforming process of an IT firm to a learning organization.

The authors adopted a qualitative research approach to define and interpret the ideas and experiences of the IT firms’ employees and to present them to the readers directly. For this purpose, they followed a single-case study design. They researched on a small and medium enterprise operating in the IT sector in Düzce province, Turkey. This paper used a semi-structured interview and document analysis as data collecting methods. In all, eight interviews were conducted with employees. Brochures and website of the organization were used as data sources for the document analysis.

As a result of in-depth interviews and document analysis, the authors formed five main themes that describe perception of big data and learning organization concepts, methods and practices adopted in transforming process, usage areas of big data in organization and how the sample organization uses big data as a learning organization. The findings of this paper show that the sample organization is a learning IT firm that has used big data in transforming to learning organization and in maintaining the learning culture.

The findings contribute to literature as it is one of the first studies that examine the influence of big data on the transformation process of an IT firm to a learning organization. The findings reveal that IT firms benefit from the solutions of big data while learning. However, as the design of the research is single-case study, the findings may be specific to the sample organization. Future studies are required that examine the subject in different samples and by different research designs.

In literature, research on how IT firms’ managers and employees use big data in organizational learning process is limited. The authors expect that this paper will shed light on future research that examines the effect of big data on the learning process of the organization.

At the moment, in terms of both research and commercial products, smart shoe technology and applications seem not to attract the same magnitude of attention compared to smart garments and other smart wearables such as wrist watches and wrist bands. The purpose of this study is to fill this knowledge gap by discussing issues regarding smart shoe sensing technologies, smart shoe sensor placements, factors that affect sensor placements and finally the areas of smart shoe applications.

Through a review of relevant literature, this study first and foremost attempts to explain what constitutes a smart shoe and subsequently discusses the current trends in smart shoe applications. Discussed in this study are relevant sensing technologies, sensor placement and areas of smart shoe applications.

This study outlined 13 important areas of smart shoe applications. It also uncovered that majority of smart shoe functionality are physical activity tracking, health rehabilitation and ambulation assistance for the blind. Also highlighted in this review are some of the bottlenecks of smart shoe development.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first comprehensive review paper focused on smart shoe applications, and therefore serves as an apt reference for researchers within the field of smart footwear.

This paper aims to answer these questions: “Is the public adopting energy-saving and water-saving facilities because they want to save energy and water in their psychological perception?”, “Is it convenient to use energy-saving and water-saving facilities?”, “If the inductive design of energy-saving and water-saving facilities attracts the public’s interest, the public is it more willing to install energy-saving and water-saving facilities in a widespread manner?” and “Can inductive energy-saving and water-saving facilities be introduced into the smart manufacturing system of manufacturing industries that require a lot of water to effectively save water and save costs for the company?”.

This paper aims to investigate the attitudes of employees toward using energy-saving and water-saving facilities by constructing a questionnaire based on the ABC (Affect, Behavior, Cognition) model to survey the attitudes of employees from the Southern and Eastern of Taiwan and establishing a structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationship between affect, behavior and cognition while using energy-saving and water-saving facilities.

There are some findings in this paper that the affective design have a strongly significant positive impact for using energy-saving and water-saving facility in the proposed model. People are willing to use energy-saving and water-saving facilities but are more willing to adopt those energy-saving and water-saving products of smart designs, as those take into account the emotional factors. The critical factor for the public to adopt energy-saving and water-saving facilities is smart design, which incorporates emotional elements.

There are still some limitations of this study that the ABC model can only be used as a psychological discussion, and the development and design of related facilities still needs to be jointly developed with professionals in related technical fields. The introduction of induction water supply facilities needs to be considered while the company introduces the design of the smart manufacturing system. Therefore, professionals related to induction water supply should participate in the planning at the initial stage of the company's concept of introducing the smart manufacturing system.

On the practical side, based on preliminary research conclusions, this study proposes to introduce inductive water supply into smart manufacturing systems for manufacturing companies that require a lot of water in their manufacturing processes. In practice, the company can actually save a lot of water, thereby saving costs and reducing waste water discharge.

The results of this study show that the public has a cognition of energy-saving and water-saving. However, there is a Chinese proverb that “easy to know and hard to do”, when actually using facilities, convenience is an important consideration for public. Smart facilities of energy-saving and water-saving, in addition to the benefits of energy-saving and water-saving, it is easy to use, and interacts with users through inductive water supply, which can more emotionally attract people's willingness to use.

This study found that smart facilities, which can more emotionally attract people's willingness to use. On the academic side, this study proves that using the ABC theory to explore the public’s psychological affective, behavior and cognition response to the use of facilities is a very suitable method. On the practical side, based on preliminary research conclusions, this study proposes to introduce inductive water supply into smart manufacturing systems for manufacturing companies that require a lot of water in their manufacturing processes. In practice, the company can actually save a lot of water, thereby saving costs and reducing waste water discharge.