(Open) Innovation Paths towards Society 5.0: the Role of Sustainability in Business Strategy and Management

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to collect theoretical and empirical studies that contribute to developing a better understanding of the links among innovation and open innovation, sustainability, Industry 4.0, and Society 5.0, or only some of these issues in the domain of business strategy and business models. Indeed, while open innovation (OI) is well developed and has been studied under different perspectives, the link between OI and Industry 4.0 and, above all, Society 5.0 still deserves more attention.

Society 5.0 can be defined as “a human-centered society that balances economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by a system that integrates cyberspace and physical space", as proposed in the 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan for Japan (http://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/english/society5_0/index.html).

Society 5.0 aims to get the individuals at its core to build “a society whose members have mutual respect for each other, transcending the generations, and a society in which each and every person can lead an active and enjoyable life” (http://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/english/society5_0/index.html). Indeed, it is clear that sustainability is an essential part of Society 5.0, as well as new technologies and tools pertaining to Industry 4.0. In fact, new technologies (e.g., Internet of Things, robotics, artificial intelligence, etc.) will be encompassed in all human activities, achieving a balance between economic development and social problems and/or issues.

Given the above, in the transition to Society 5.0, innovation andor OI will play an essential role because the locus of innovation of societies is in firms.

Indeed, innovation is now being affected even more, especially in the manufacturing context, by the challenge of Industry 4.0, which encompasses production processes, efficiency, data management, relationship with consumers, competitiveness, etc.

In “Society 5.0 people, things, and systems [will be] all connected in cyberspace and optimal results obtained by [artificial intelligence] exceeding the capabilities of humans that are fed back to physical space” (http://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/english/society5_0/index.html).

Consequently, how value will be created or co-created in Society 5.0 is still unknown.

Even though the management literature on both Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 is still at an early stage, recently a new definition of Industry 4.0 has been proposed in the management domain, which is able to combine the manufacturing side of the Fourth Industrial Revolution with its expected outcomes and the role of a purposely formulated strategy. This spotlights the role of both strategy and management, as well as the need for new business models in the transition to Industry 4.0 and, hopefully, to Society 5.0.

Indeed, “Industry 4.0 refers to the integration of Internet of Things technologies with industrial value creation enabling manufacturers to harness entirely digitized, connected, smart, and decentralized value chains” (Prause, 2017, p. 423) able to “deliver greater flexibility and robustness to firm competitiveness and enable them to build flexible and adaptable business structures, [acquiring] the permanent ability for internal evolutionary developments in order to cope with a changing business environment” (Koether, 2006, p. 583) “as the result of a purposely formulated strategy implemented over time” (Piccarozzi, Aquilani, Gatti, 2018).

In this context, the link between Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 represents a gap in the literature, as well as the important role played by sustainability in this scenario, and, last but not least, the role of innovation and especially OI. Finally, how value will be created or co-created in this complex scenario represents a great challenge for both firms and academics.

Both conceptual and empirical papers will be considered, as well as all research methodologies following the paper aim.

This Special Issue is linked to the R&D Management Conference (track 25), which will take place in Paris in June (please see https://portail.polytechnique.edu/rdmanagement2019/fr/submission/tracks-themes/theme-7-industry-40/track-25-open-innovation-paths-towards-society-50).

References:

1. Koether, R. Taschenbuch der Logistik, 2nd ed.; Hanser Verlag GmbH Co KG: Leipzig, Germany, 2006.
2. Prause, G.; Atari, S. On sustainable production networks for Industry 4.0. Entrep. Sustain. Issues 2017, 4, 421–431.
3. Piccarozzi M., Aquilani B., Gatti C. Industry 4.0 in Management Studies: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability 2018, 10, (paper n. 3821); doi:10.3390/su10103821.

Prof. Barbara Aquilani
Dr. Michela Piccarozzi
Assoc. Prof. Abbate Tindara
Assoc. Prof. Anna Paola Codini
Guest Editors

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• Innovation
• Open Innovation
• Industry 4.0
• Sustainability
• Sustainable development
• Business strategy
• Management
• Business model