The Manufacturing, Managerial and Costing Issues in the New Era of Industry 5.0

Dear Colleagues,

Industry 5.0 represents a significant paradigm shift from the technology-driven orientation of Industry 4.0 toward a more human-centric, sustainable, and resilient manufacturing ecosystem. While Industry 4.0 emphasized automation, the Internet of Things (IoT), Cyber–Physical Systems (CPSs), and artificial intelligence (AI) to maximize productivity and efficiency, Industry 5.0 seeks to restore the human element in production systems. It promotes a collaborative environment in which human creativity and intelligence complement the speed and precision of advanced technologies. Unlike Industry 4.0, which primarily focused on efficiency improvement and cost reduction, Industry 5.0 emphasizes personalized production and the balanced integration of humans and intelligent technologies. Organizations are therefore confronted with various managerial challenges, including workforce reskilling, ethical concerns, and the need to combine advanced automation with human ingenuity in increasingly dynamic production environments.

Human-centricity constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of Industry 5.0. Technology is regarded as an enabling tool that serves people rather than replacing them. Specifically, human–machine collaboration enables employees to focus on innovation and strategic decision-making, while intelligent systems perform repetitive and routine tasks. Collaborative robots (cobots) further strengthen this concept by allowing humans and robots to work side by side, thereby enhancing productivity, operational efficiency, and workplace safety. In addition, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies provide support for employee training, remote assistance, and complex assembly operations, contributing to workforce development and organizational competitiveness. Sustainability is another major characteristic of Industry 5.0. Sustainable manufacturing seeks to minimize environmental impacts and promote environmentally friendly technologies. Increasing attention has been directed toward renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, and biomass energy, to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Furthermore, the circular economy concept encourages waste reduction, recycling, and resource reutilization, thereby balancing economic performance with environmental responsibility and long-term value creation. Industry 5.0 also emphasizes resilience. Recent global disruptions and supply chain uncertainties have highlighted the importance of flexibility and adaptability in manufacturing systems. Through digitalization and smart technologies, organizations are able to strengthen operational continuity and improve their ability to respond effectively to unexpected disruptions and crises.

Mass personalization has emerged as another important feature of Industry 5.0. By integrating advanced digital technologies with automated production systems, manufacturers can satisfy diverse customer requirements while maintaining the efficiency advantages associated with mass production. This capability enables organizations to deliver customized and high-quality products while creating superior customer value and sustainable market growth.

From a managerial perspective, effective cost management is indispensable in highly automated and customized production environments. Activity-Based Costing (ABC) provides a useful approach for accurately assigning direct and indirect costs through the identification of appropriate cost drivers. Using a two-stage allocation process, ABC enhances cost visibility and supports managerial decision-making. Moreover, Green Activity-Based Costing (Green ABC) extends traditional ABC by incorporating environmental costs, including energy consumption and carbon-related costs, into product costing systems. The integration of ABC with the Theory of Constraints (TOC) further improves operational efficiency by identifying bottlenecks and optimizing resource utilization, thereby contributing to sustainable manufacturing and organizational competitiveness.

This Topic welcomes theoretical, empirical, and case-study contributions concerning manufacturing, managerial, and costing issues in the new era of Industry 5.0. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, human-centric manufacturing, sustainability and resilience, collaborative robots, human–machine collaboration, mass personalization, renewable energy, the circular economy, Activity-Based Costing, Green ABC, operational efficiency, and other emerging issues related to smart and sustainable manufacturing. Contributions that provide innovative managerial insights and practical implications for organizations navigating the transition toward Industry 5.0, as well as interdisciplinary and cross-functional studies, are particularly encouraged. Additionally, both conceptual and empirical studies, as well as practical applications and industrial case studies, are also highly encouraged to advance the understanding of manufacturing, managerial, and costing issues in the Industry 5.0 era.

Prof. Dr. Wen-Hsien Tsai
Dr. Cheng-Tsu Huang
Topic Editors