Charting the path to a sustainable, competitive and green industry in an era of rapid change: proposing a research agenda

Wallo, Andreas et al. Article Charting the path to a sustainable, competitive and green industry in an era of rapid change: proposing a research agenda Cogent Business & Management Provided in Cooperation with: Taylor & Francis Group Suggested Citation: Wallo, Andreas et al. (2024) : Charting the path to a sustainable, competitive and green industry in an era of rapid change: proposing a research agenda, Cogent Business & Management, ISSN 2331-1975, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, pp. 1-21, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2344189 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/326250 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Cogent Business & Management ISSN: 2331-1975 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/oabm20 Charting the path to a sustainable, competitive and green industry in an era of rapid change: proposing a research agenda Andreas Wallo, Jason Martin, Mattias Elg, Ulrika Harlin, Ida Gremyr, Nina Bozic, Katrin Skagert & Anna Williamsson To cite this article: Andreas Wallo, Jason Martin, Mattias Elg, Ulrika Harlin, Ida Gremyr, Nina Bozic, Katrin Skagert & Anna Williamsson (2024) Charting the path to a sustainable, competitive and green industry in an era of rapid change: proposing a research agenda, Cogent Business & Management, 11:1, 2344189, DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2024.2344189 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2344189 © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Published online: 22 Apr 2024. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 1345 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 5 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oabm20 ManageMent | ReseaRch aRticle Cogent Business & ManageMent 2024, VoL. 11, no. 1, 2344189 Charting the path to a sustainable, competitive and green industry in an era of rapid change: proposing a research agenda andreas Walloa , Jason Martinb , Mattias elgb , Ulrika harlinc , ida gremyrd , nina Bozicc , Katrin skagertc and anna Williamssonc aDepartment of Behavioural sciences and Learning, Linköping university, Linköping, sweden; bDepartment of Management and engineering, Linköping university, Linköping, sweden; cDivision Materials and Production, Rise Research institutes of sweden, göteborg, sweden; dDepartment of technology Management and economics, Chalmers university of technology, Linköping, sweden ABSTRACT global labor market shifts have spurred the need for innovations and adaptations in workplace norms. this evolution demands a workforce with technical and soft skills to meet sustainability and industry advancements. the paper aims to elucidate the complex challenges related to the ambition to develop a socially sustainable, competitive, and green industry subjected to an accelerating pace of change. it outlines the findings of a Delphi study conducted in sweden, which integrated workshops, interviews, and surveys with experts from various sectors to identify 14 key challenges. these challenges were synthesized into five themes: innovative competence supply management practices, resilient organizations and production systems, analytics for improvement and learning, socially sustainable work, and green transformation practices. the study provides a set of propositions within these themes, offering a strategic roadmap for future research to foster the growth of industries that are socially responsible, competitive, and committed to environmental sustainability. a practical implication of the study is the recognition of the larger competence ecosystem of which industrial companies are a part. this community must work together to create the knowledge needed to manage the shift to a green, sustainable, and digital working life. Introduction in recent years, unprecedented challenges and disruptions have catalyzed transformative shifts across the global labor market (Mehta et al., 2024; suciu et al., 2023; tavella, 2022; Venn et al., 2022; Verick et al., 2022). industries in every sector are pursuing the green transition, an evolution necessitating technological advancements for fossil-free production, carbon emission reduction, material development, and a strategic shift towards a circular economy (alcalde-calonge et al., 2022; harlin et al., 2022; sindhwani et al., 2022). the cOViD-19 pandemic has turned traditional workplace norms on their heads, as widespread lockdowns and social distancing regulations propelled us into the era of remote and hybrid workplaces (alshibly & alzubi, 2022; Delfino & van der Kolk, 2021; lundqvist et al., 2022; Yarberry & sims, 2021). adding to this flux is the advent of commercially accessible ai chat models, such as chatgPt (lo, 2023). such advancements have added another dimension to our understanding of the evolving workplace, marking an exciting yet challenging juncture in the world of work. in order to stay ahead of these rapid changes, industries must work fast to develop and implement new technologies and environmentally viable solutions. however, this shift requires new knowledge and © 2024 the author(s). Published by informa uK Limited, trading as taylor & Francis group CONTACT andreas Wallo andreas[email protected] Department of Behavioural sciences and Learning, Linköping university, Linköping, se-581 83, sweden https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2344189 this is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. the terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 15 september 2023 Revised 10 april 2024 accepted 13 april 2024 KEYWORDS industrial transformation; green transition; competence supply management; social sustainability; Delphi study REVIEWING EDITOR Pablo Ruiz, Universidad de castilla-la Mancha, spain SUBJECTS Work & Organizational Psychology; education – social sciences; sustainable Development; Business, Management and accounting; adult education and lifelong learning; education 2a. WallO etal. expertise in areas such as renewable energy, green building design, sustainable supply chain management, green human resource management (hRM), quality management, and waste reduction strategies, but also softer skills such as creativity, critical thinking and the ability to foster employee empowerment (harlin & Berglund, 2021; Martin etal., 2023; Modgil etal., 2023; Rashid et al., 2023; suciu et al., 2023). Unfortunately, many organizations do not have the necessary staff to fill these roles, making them less resilient in terms of being able to adapt to complex changes (Florez-Jimenez et al., 2024) by access to expertise in sustainability-related areas. thus, this leads to a competence gap that can hinder progress towards sustainability goals and industry 4.0 and 5.0 (anshari & hamdan, 2022; Whysall et al., 2019). therefore, in current research and policy discussions, the need for competence is frequently cast as a central factor driving sustainable development. in sweden, this need is mirrored in policy initiatives such as the green transition leap (halvarsson lundqvist etal., 2022), declaring that competence supply management is one of the most critical issues during the next century. a survey by the Royal swedish academy of engineering sciences (iVa, 2021) showed that the number of companies considering it difficult to find personnel in research and development is increasing, particularly in growing technology areas such as ai, digitalization, green technology, and electrification. similarly, a recent interview study with 1300 swedish industrial small and medium-sized enterprises pointed out that issues concerning employee competence are critical to addressing future development initiatives (hedman, 2022). Furthermore, the competence shortage can also have significant social sustainability impacts, i.e. affect individual and collective human behavior in organizations (cf. Faber etal., 2010). employees who lack the necessary skills and knowledge to implement sustainable practices may face challenges in their work environment that affect their health and well-being (e.g. tamers etal., 2020). in addition, a lack of opportunities for employee growth and development could lead to job dissatisfaction and high turnover rates, negatively impacting the community (e.g. Kurniawaty et al., 2019; Ruiz-Palomino et al., 2021). therefore, investing in employee competence development benefits the organization’s sustainability goals and contributes to suitable work environments that strengthen health and well-being (e.g. Wikhamn, 2019). the paper aims to elucidate the complex challenges related to the ambition to develop a socially sustainable, competitive, and green industry subjected to an accelerating pace of change. the paper presents and discusses challenges identified in a Delphi study to arrive at specific priorities and gaps that guide propositions for future research. Method the Delphi method was used to identify and explore the challenges for a sustainable industry by reaching a group opinion among a panel of experts (Okoli & Pawlowski, 2004). the panel in this study was a group of experts within strategic functions that could provide perspectives from industry, labor market organizations, the public sector, and academia. the participants held key management or expert positions in large and medium-sized industrial companies as well as intermediaries such as educational actors and labor market organizations, and governmental agencies. the Delphi method for this study was structured in three steps: an initial workshop, individual interviews, and a survey. the first step was to arrange an initial workshop to identify what key stakeholders perceive as critical knowledge gaps in relation to the project theme, i.e. to establish a socially sustainable, competitive, and green industry at an accelerating pace of change. the workshop was conducted online via Ms teams by the research team, together with participants representing 14 organizations in sweden. the research team documented the results from this workshop to form a basis for further inquiry and to develop an interview guide for interviews aimed at further charting the perceived knowledge gaps. the second step in the Delphi study was to map knowledge gaps, needs, and challenges through individual semi-structured interviews with respondents (n = 24). each interview lasted approximately 30–45 minutes and was conducted digitally via Ms teams or physically at the company premises. the interviewees were provided with all the challenges identified in the first step, and the interviews revolved around the question, ‘What are the most critical challenges to achieving a socially sustainable, competitive, and green industry (at an accelerating pace of change)?’ the interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the QsR nVivo software program for qualitative analysis (Jackson & Bazeley, 2019). the qualitative data analysis was conducted iteratively by a team of two designated researchers who cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 3 followed an abductive five-step analytical process: (1) reading and re-reading the transcripts; (2) data reduction by coding; (3) comparing, relating, and integrating codes; (4) thematic analysis; and (5) drawing conclusions by establishing central themes together with illustrative quotes. the coding in nVivo was conducted in an open, data-driven manner, aligning with the principles outlined by Miles and huberman (1994) regarding attributing specific phenomena to text segments (p. 57). two researchers independently coded the dataset using the ‘codes’ and ‘nodes’ tools in nVivo. the separate coding schemes were compared and evaluated before merging into one coherent coding scheme. Following this initial phase, the coded data underwent thematic analysis, wherein variables were organized into overarching thematic codes through clustering. this was also partly done manually, on a physical whiteboard, during several workshop sessions involving several researchers in the team. Based on these workshops, a construct table in nVivo was established, facilitating a comparative examination and critical evaluation of the identified thematic codes. the results from the nVivo-supported analysis were then validated in a second analysis process conducted by other research group members. Finally, all research members in the team participated in interpretation, where step 2 resulted in 14 identified key challenges along with additional sub-challenges. During this analysis phase, the researchers related the challenges to different research fields, which formed the initial base for clustering and synthesizing the thematic codes into 14 specific challenges. as an illustrative example, Figure 1 features an nVivo-based diagram of the thematic code, which results in challenge no. 5: ‘attracting, developing and retaining employees with the right skills’. the diagram displays the sub-codes linked to this thematic code. the third step in the Delphi study was a descriptive survey aimed at validating the aggregated findings from the digital workshop and interviews and prioritizing areas for further research. the respondents in the survey study were the interview persons from the interview study together with eight additional key stakeholders from invited organizations (n = 32). the survey study was carried out in December 2022 and was designed and structured around the 14 key challenges identified in steps 1 and 2 (the workshop and the interviews). there were 13 experts in the panel that answered the survey. in the survey, the respondents were asked to assess each challenge using a 7-graded likert scale from two different perspectives: (1) the current ability to address the challenge, and (2) how important it is for the organization to increase knowledge about the challenge. the survey also included an open question where the respondents were asked to add any possible additional challenges and explain why it should be added. in the final question, the respondents were also asked to prioritize what they thought were the five most important challenges out of the 14. the survey data was then analyzed to extract descriptive information on how the different challenges were valued and prioritized concerning the assessment of current organizational abilities and the perceived future importance of each listed challenge. in parallel with the design phase of the descriptive survey, the 14 challenges were synthesized into themes. through iterative discussions and mapping of codes, preliminary themes were identified and subsequently refined to ensure they accurately represented the challenges. this review process led to the definition and naming of the final themes: ‘innovative competence supply Management Practices’, ‘Resilient Organizations and Production systems’, ‘analytics for improvement and learning’, ‘socially sustainable Work’, and ‘green transformation Practices’. these themes encapsulate the study’s findings on necessary innovations in competence management, organizational resilience, data-driven improvement, social sustainability, and green transformation practices within the industry. a complementary theme for ‘Future challenges’ was included, as the environment is constantly moving, and new challenges may arise. concerning research ethics, the Delphi study concentrated on gathering insights about organizations and business environments rather than collecting personal data from the participants. this focus negated the necessity for ethical approval. nevertheless, we made it a point to obtain informed consent from all participants, ensuring transparency and ethical rigor. the accumulated results have been synthesized at a macro level, making it impossible to trace them back to any participant, thus preserving their anonymity. Results in this section, the identified challenges (table 1) are presented. 4a. WallO etal. Organizing and creating conditions for flexible work for all the first challenge concerns creating flexible work conditions for everyone, including opportunities for flexible working hours, remote and on-site work options, and an organizational culture that supports flexibility. the increased adoption of flexible work models brought on by the cOViD-19 pandemic is expected to continue in the future. One quality of flexible ways of working is combining, to a higher degree, remote and on-site work, which opens possibilities to attract new talents from a wider geographical pool. it also enables employees to design their work process more based on their needs and hence improves conditions for balancing work with private life: Remote work makes it possible to live a bit further away from the workplace and still make your private life work because you can work from home more days without affecting your work performance, which is positive. This is a change that the pandemic brought. however, when people work more from home, effort must be put into supporting employees with increased self-leadership and time management to create the optimum workflow. here, an active Figure 1. nVivo diagram displaying the thematic code, together with sub-codes, forming challenge no. 5: “attracting, developing and retaining employees with the right skills”. cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 5 engagement from the managers is needed to understand the needs of employees and support people to find the right balance: Employees have a dialogue with their closest manager so that we understand what works well with remote work but also what perceived challenges are so that we can design the work process and conditions based on that understanding. This gives us flexibility which now creates opportunities to combine remote and on-site work in a good way. Despite many advantages, there are also several challenges with flexible work models. the participants reflect that finding the right balance between individual and team needs is difficult. it has become harder to create a strong culture when colleagues spend less time physically together. there are also differences in expectations between generations when it comes to work flexibility, and there is also a risk of unequal conditions for workers, for example, blue-collar workers who must work on-site to a higher degree and white-collar workers who can work remotely. Those who work on the factory floor must be on-site. Therefore, tension is created between white and blue color workers, and we will never be able to surpass that. It is what it is. Managing crises and drastic external events successfully the second challenge explored in the Delphi study is managing crises and other unexpected external events. Proactively managing uncertainties is increasingly important in a fast-moving and dynamic environment. these events, collectively referred to as ‘critical events’, have a significant impact on working conditions. additionally, resources, the ability to improvise, the capacity for organizational learning, and the managerial ability to manage potential conflicting interests are needed when facing critical events and still achieving improvements and sustainability over time. successfully managing crises and extreme external events demands that companies increase their resilient ability related to radical and unexpected changes, or as one of the study participants says: We have to be able to get back on our feet as quickly as possible. there are obstacles in how to deal with a crisis and drastic events that bring increased uncertainty. For example, the relationship between resilience and sustainability can be seen in two ways: It is exciting to explore whether resilient companies are more or less sustainable. The tension between redundancy and efficiency is interesting. Do you choose one or the other? For example, when you build double production lines, you must build also double energy supply systems to be prepared for the worst. the problem is that companies have tried to become lean and agile to change faster during a more extended period. this trend has removed much of the redundancy needed to build resilience. another challenge is related to dependence on the global supply chains: Table 1. 14 challenges identified in the Delphi study. Challenge 1. to organize and create conditions for flexible work for all 2. to successfully manage crises and drastic external events 3. to successfully drive and contribute to the green industrial transformation 4. to facilitate employee-driven innovation and organizational learning 5. to attract, develop and retain employees with the right skills 6. to take advantage of and exploit the opportunities of digitalization 7. to create inclusive workplaces and utilize diversity 8. to organize competence development 9. to collaborate with external parties to ensure the availability of competence 10.to design for socially sustainable work considering efficiency and good health in a dynamic environment 11.to organize the creation of added value for and together with customers and suppliers 12.to systematically drive continuous improvement work in parallel with long-term development work 13.to develop leadership that creates better opportunities both for a climate-neutral footprint and a competitive industry with good working conditions 14.to transform researchand policy-based knowledge into practice 6a. WallO etal. Many industries are very internationalized which means it is dependent on the supply chains that are in different countries. this has made many companies vulnerable: Before, one could choose among many different local suppliers in Sweden, but due to consolidation and globalization of supply chains, they have become much more vulnerable, and our choice of suppliers is limited. Driving and contributing to the green industrial transformation the third challenge focuses on driving and contributing to the green industrial transformation. this involves managing issues related to preparing the organization for a fast-changing environment, modifying and adapting workplaces and production systems, integrating new or modified products into rebuilt production systems, and incorporating sustainability into daily operations: So, in an organization, what does electrification mean then? …. It is something we are building as we go along. It is like building a bridge while we at the same time are walking… no… speedily running on it. It is also not always that simple. And I know what it is like when you attend a course/…/It is often a proven, known competence that you do a course on. However, this new domain requires new knowledge. One challenge revealed in the study concerning how to drive the green industrial transformation successfully is integrating new environmentally friendly products and a new or rebuilt production system. another challenge is to find ways to change the mindset of employees and integrate environmental sustainability into everyday work routines and processes for continuous improvement: I think our capacity to do that is still very low. We are talking about CO2 emissions but what does that mean for each employee? What can each of us do to have an impact in the everyday work? The first step would be to even understand how we can improve our mindset before we can change our behaviors, so we have a long journey to take. additionally, working with environmental sustainability calls for new competence: To work in climate-smart ways creates higher demands and new competence from employees responsible for designing processes and products so that they are not only as cheap as possible but also as sustainable as possible. this demands that future organizations be prepared for different workplaces and production systems in the design and early development phases of production systems. it also calls for resource-efficient sustainability solutions and a long-term perspective on return on investment (ROi) that enables those solutions. What is often a hindrance is that price is still a decisive factor. Our customers always talk about sustainability, but when it comes to daily decisions when procurement people call us, the main factor is still the price. Facilitating employee-driven innovation and organizational learning the fourth challenge concerns increasing employee-driven innovation, product and production development innovation, and building learning organizations at a rapid pace of change. in the study, employee-driven innovation and a culture for learning were identified as key challenges and priorities for creating a sustainable industry. at the core of these challenges is how companies can build innovation capability that makes them better at continuous learning and harnessing employees’ creativity. this will result in increased agility and innovation in products, in production processes, in business models or elsewhere: One can never be fully prepared for the changes to come. The only way to prepare for them is to develop agility that demands high innovation capability in terms of finding new ways to use innovative technologies, and financial solutions, developing innovative commercial products and services, or finding new business models to overcome and survive future challenges. so, to get there, the potential of all people in the company is crucial to developing innovation as a core competence distributed across the company. this demands a high level of openness to changes, continuous learning, and innovation. as one of the participants in the study reflects: cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 7 It is a lot about the people at our company, they have a key role. We can buy new technology but if people are not on their toes and ready to learn how to use it and run in a completely new direction fast, we will not be able to stay competitive. Bottom-up innovation driven by employees is closely related to building a learning culture and an organization where companies put conscious effort in developing strategies for learning and continuous development of employees: I think we have a good structure that enables personal development, including performance and development review and following up on that, but new employees we recruit expect even more support for their development. They want a more concrete development plan, and they are asking us: how will you help me develop? these expectations are not hard to understand when one knows there is a need for a significant shift towards the new competence demanded stimulated by the pace of change the industry is facing. For example, the shift from the production of automobile vehicles driven by fossil fuels to electric vehicles demands a lot of new knowledge and innovation: I think our biggest challenge is systematically creating space for learning and reflection as a culture for learning. This way, we would have time to reflect on what we did, what is happening around us, and what we are learning from it. This is hard when we have so much pressure in the organization and much to do. Attracting, developing, and retaining employees with the right skills the fifth challenge is attracting, recruiting, and retaining employees with the necessary competence. this challenge encompasses addressing the lack of core competence in emerging domains, streamlining recruitment and onboarding processes, leveraging innovative technologies in hR practices, and developing existing staff. the interviews show that the industry experiences problems with finding the right people. One contributor is that many people have started working as low-skilled operators and stayed in the company, hence not possessing the skills needed for the future, e.g. related to green or digital transformation. and the highly skilled people with the right skills are hard to attract and retain: Almost all of us used to be machine operators and came in straight from the high school. We stayed at the company and developed internally. This is why I tried to recruit more engineers, but they come and question, change some things, and then leave. We have not succeeded to attract and retain them. therefore, it is essential to retain and develop existing employees by offering continuous learning opportunities so that employees feel they have development opportunities and do not have to go to another employer. employee retention and development needs to be adjusted to the different needs of people from various generations, cultures and backgrounds. Organizations need to become better at developing new skills among existing employees and transforming and transferring skills within and between organizations. this will be more likely through global recruiting, which is enabled by digitalization and remote working. another solution will be shared competence pools that will require more flexible forms of employment: For example, maintenance work will probably be done remotely in the future because everything will be super connected and digitalized. We will not need maintenance people for every single department. Maybe we can have a pool of maintenance experts supporting several parts of the organization. And we can buy this expertise from outside, for example, from gig workers. Whenever we have a problem, we can connect to them and pay them for solving a specific problem, not on a monthly salary base. But how do we build the compensation policy for this new working method? We are not ready for that yet. in general, a more strategic approach to attracting talent with future skills will be needed to be at the forefront of upcoming technology development: We need to work from a strategy the whole time and it is important to identify talented workforce, having a special program for talents so we can find ways to create conditions for competence development that allows us to stay at the forefront of new market and technology trends. 14 a. WallO etal. there is not one challenge the panel members believe is the most important. instead, it points to the fact that many identified challenges are intrinsic and essential for creating a sustainable industry, where some challenges are also perceived as intertwined. Synthesis and discussion in this section, we will synthesize the findings to suggest an agenda for future research to address these challenges and support the growth and development of a socially responsible, competitive, and environmentally friendly industry. the challenges can be related to five themes to give a better overview; however, some challenges are related more than one theme (Figure 3). these themes serve as a base for ten suggested research propositions. in the agenda, we also recognize the potential for currently unknown challenges to arise. therefore, in Figure 3, there is an opening for ‘future challenges’. Theme A: innovative competence supply management practices theme a comprises innovative ways of working with organizational competence supply management. competence supply management refers to activities that aim to satisfy an organization with competence in a long-term perspective, including attracting, recruiting, onboarding, retaining, and developing employees who possess the right competence based on the organization’s current and future needs (Wallo et al., 2016). the Delphi study showed that competence supply management is one of the most critical issues and the area that the representatives of participating organizations feel is most difficult to address. how can organizations work innovatively with competence supply management to combat the skills shortage standing in the way of a resilient and sustainable industry? there is currently access to tools based on ai, robot process automation, and machine learning, which potentially can change the daily competence supply management practices in organizations. areas potentially suitable for automation include staffing, recruitment, introduction, employee engagement, payroll management, administration and systematic work environment management (anagnoste, 2017; Balasundaram & Venkatagiri, 2020; Burnett & lisk, 2019). Moreover, given that external recruitment may not adequately meet future competence demands, it is essential to allocate internal resources towards competence development and continuous learning initiatives. these efforts aim to reskill and upskill existing employees, enhancing employee-driven innovation opportunities. in this context, the role of learning-oriented leadership by managers within organizations becomes crucial. such leadership directly and indirectly supports an adaptive and developmental environment for workplace learning (Wallo et al., 2024). By the above arguments, we propose the following: Figure 3. gaps between importance and current abilities (numbers in parentheses refers to the challenges clustered under each theme). cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 15 Proposition 1: to maintain sustainability in competence supply management, the industry needs to continuously monitor and review the supply and demand of competence and adjust their strategies accordingly. it also requires long-term thinking and investment rather than short-term solutions that can lead to a lack of stability. Proposition 2: the transformation to sustainable industry requires the utilization of new technology that can streamline and improve the efficiency of competence supply management practices. Proposition 3: internal competence development and continuous learning initiatives significantly impact the reskilling and upskilling of existing employees, thereby enhancing their capacity for innovation within the organization. Future research is required on how hR specialists’ and operations managers’ work and competence are affected by the increased presence of digital technology in competence supply management practices. Future studies should also address what factors drive effective and sustainable competence supply management that meets the needs of green transition in an increasingly digitalized world. Future research investigating the impact of managers’ leadership is also required. Theme B: resilient organizations and production systems theme B focuses on successfully managing crises and drastic external events by building resilient performance (Degerman, 2021), and production systems consistent with the industry 5.0 paradigm, which emphasizes sustainability, resilience, and human-centricity in industrial development processes. Manufacturing companies must include resilience and sustainability perspectives in their agendas, where production innovations, integrated work processes, and new competence are essential (säfsten et al., 2022). to address challenges related to needed resilience, a holistic understanding and cross-collaboration are essential to avoid locked structures and rigid solutions that counteract the possibility of developing resilient and sustainable production systems. Moreover, to address the different aspects of sustainability (including both environmental, economic, and social factors), a system perspective that includes technology, people, and organization is necessary (alayón et al., 2022), especially focusing on the shared purpose of the organization as this ‘positively impacts organizational resilience, [and] the latter brings the organizational ability to continue to deliver competitive sustainability performance’ (Florez-Jimenez etal., 2024, p. 30). Following the above reasoning, we propose the following propositions: Proposition 4: the ability to perform resiliently, i.e. absorb disruption and recover with minimal effort, requires an organizational ability to adopt a system perspective and develop a comprehensive understanding of enablers and barriers for sustainability. Proposition 5: increased resilience capability and sustainability in organizations and production systems depend on integrating technological aspects such as digitalization and automated work processes with a human-centered approach and sustainable resource usage. additional research is needed to understand what characterizes resilient and sustainable systems in different industrial contexts and levels. Furthermore, further research is needed to understand the challenges organizations face in developing resilience and supporting sustainability while effectively managing eventual contradicting demands, competence development, and organizational learning in change and development processes. Theme C: analytics for improvement and learning theme c focuses on building organization for learning, continuous improvement, and innovation. analytics for improvement and learning refers systematically using data and statistical analysis to gain insights and drive continuous improvements in an organization (Davenport, 2013). the goal is to make data-driven decisions that lead to enhanced performance, increased efficiency, and continuous learning (elg, 2022). this approach typically involves defining performance metrics and key performance 16 a. WallO etal. indicators (KPis) (neely etal., 1995). Data is collected and analyzed to monitor the performance of these KPis and, through the application of quality management, identify trends and opportunities for improvement (gremyr et al., 2020). Building on this rationale and the challenges outlined by organizational representatives in the Delphi study, we suggest the following propositions: Proposition 6: effective use of analytics requires a systematic approach, including the use of quality management techniques, to continuously improve performance and drive growth. Proposition 7: When organizing analytics for improvement and learning in organizations, the distinction between measurements and data used for control and follow-up purposes and those used to support improvement and learning is crucial. Further research is needed to understand how organizations can effectively involve employees in continuous improvements and learning when integrating analytics into business processes and decision-making systems. a particular area is to explore how organizations use predictive analytics in competence supply management, especially in attracting and retaining employees. Furthermore, there is a need to understand how organizations can utilize machine learning and ai to automate processes, improve operational efficiency, and understand the social consequences of this development. Theme D: socially sustainable work theme D concerns creating an inclusive and sustainable place of work in a fast-moving environment, which is crucial for success in the industry 4.0 and 5.0 paradigms (european commission, 2021a; Pinzone et al., 2020). the green transition will require a workplace where employees can handle increased complexity, parallel changes, and uncertainties (harlin et al., 2022). as raised in the so-called Operator 4.0 vision, future smart factories are increasingly suited for workers with different skills, capabilities, and preferences (Kaasinen et al., 2020). Utilizing diversity by creating teams and development projects with representatives from different backgrounds, functions, disciplines, ages, genders can provide possibilities for an increased holistic understanding of the assigned tasks and performance areas. if adequately managed, diversity can potentially improve organizational productivity and competitiveness (sharma, 2016). thus, managerial development is required to support renewal ability and create conditions for workplace innovations in parallel with daily operations. One of the priorities in the eU strategic Framework on health and safety at Work for 2021–2027 is anticipating and managing change, given the green and digital transition, demographic challenges, and incipient competence shortage (european commission, 2021b). Proposition 8: systematic occupational health and safety management (sOhsM) needs to focus not only on a preventive health perspective (i.e. avoiding risks and hazards at work) but also on promotive aspects such as how work is organized, the type of job demands and job resources available, and opportunities for learning and competence development. Research is needed to develop managerial support to strengthen and integrate diverse perspectives, create autonomy in teams and cross-disciplinary teamwork, bridge barriers, and utilize emerging technologies beneficial for individual work and organizational flexibility. additionally, studies must address the impact of green and digital transitions on competence supply management and employee health maintenance. Theme E: green transformation practices theme e relates to successfully driving and contributing to the green industrial transformation and leveraging technology opportunities. Moving towards a sustainable industry requires an integrated focus on ecological, economic, and social sustainability. in creating such focus, it is critical to integrate sustainability considerations into a firm’s daily operations and practices (luttropp & lagerstedt, 2006; Maxwell & van der Vorst, 2003). such integration prevents it from being a separate consideration exposed to the chance of being down-prioritized, e.g. in decision-making (Waage, 2007) involving trade-offs between performance and sustainability. cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 17 With the support of technology (Philbeck & Davis, 2018), organizations need to develop capabilities and practices that support green transformation. Besides coping with the technology and the output data per se, the vast amount of data generated also requires new roles, practices and processes to enable an organization to respond to and create value from the data (gremyr etal., 2022). Regarding green transformation practices, two propositions are offered: Proposition 9: technology, in particular digitalization, is a key to enabling green transformation practices and a more sustainable industry. therefore, capabilities and abilities to support industry 4.0 technologies are crucial for organizations to exploit technical possibilities. Proposition 10: to exploit the technical possibilities and realize their potential support of sustainable development, organizations must also create trustful, innovative, structured collaborations and organize continuous integration of green transformation practices. additional research is required to understand the role of integration of green transformation practices in organizations. For instance, it is important to consider how actors can collaborate with each other to support green transformation practices in the supply chain. it is also crucial to integrate green transformation practices into management processes. Moreover, we need to understand the requirements for integrating industry 4.0 technologies into industrial practices that support a green transformation. Conclusions and implications for practice the results of the Delphi study have pinpointed critical areas of concern and priority for future research through a systematic and iterative process. the themes presented in the paper provide a roadmap for future research areas that will support the growth and development of a socially responsible, competitive, and environmentally friendly industry. the move towards sustainable and green business models and increased digital integration necessitates workforce resilience, competence, and socially sustainable working conditions. entrepreneurial spirit, strong relationships, solution-oriented development, and transparency across the value network are vital in a circular economy. Key enablers to achieve a sustainable industry in this environment include organizational resilience, knowledge management, and a socially sustainable working environment, securing a competent workforce. concerning practical implications, a critical prerequisite for successfully fostering the competence supply essential for the sustainable transformation of the industry lies in the collaborative ecosystem of organizations within the labor market (cf. singh & Rahman, 2021). this ecosystem encompasses diverse sectors, including industry, public sector organizations, trade unions, and universities, which are imperative for developing the knowledge and expertise required to drive this transformation. as companies are integral to a broader community, a collective responsibility is to forge the knowledge base necessary for transitioning to a green, sustainable, and digitally advanced working life. this collaborative approach aligns with the triple helix model, emphasizing the synergistic partnership between these sectors to cultivate a dynamic and sustainable innovation system that promotes economic growth alongside social development. to further strengthen the practical implications of our research, we recommend that policymakers introduce and support initiatives designed to facilitate cross-sector collaboration. this may include financial incentives for sustainable innovation projects, regulatory frameworks encouraging green practices, and platforms enhancing knowledge sharing between academia, industry, and public entities. By implementing such measures, policymakers can significantly accelerate the industry’s shift towards sustainability and digitalization. an implication for organizations within the collaborative ecosystem is to monitor the ongoing shifts in global labor markets and breakthroughs in green technology to anticipate changes and adapt their strategies to meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Authors’ contributions this article represents a collaborative effort among all listed authors, each of whom has significantly contributed to the successful completion of this work. the conception and design of the study were led by Wallo, Martin, elg, harlin, Bozic, Williamsson, and skagert. Martin, elg, Wallo, harlin, and Bozic handled the analysis and interpretation 18 a. WallO etal. of data. the manuscript was drafted by Wallo, Martin, elg, gremyr, harlin, Bozic, Williamsson, and skagert. every author has critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content, ensuring the integrity and accuracy of the work. additionally, all authors have given their final approval of the version to be published, signifying their collective responsibility and endorsement of the content presented. Disclosure statement there are no financial or non-financial competing interests to report. About the authors Andreas Wallo, senior associate Professor at the Department of Behavioural sciences and learning at linköping University. his research interests include competence supply management, workplace learning, hybrid work, and human resource management. Jason Martin, associate Professor at the Department of Management and engineering at linköping University. his research focuses on management practice and how organizations can manage adaptation and development sustainably and successfully. Mattias Elg, Professor at the Department of Management and engineering at linköping University. his research interests include sustainable development in organizations, organizational change, performance measurement practices, and data analytics. Ulrika Harlin, lic.eng. and senior researcher at Rise Research institutes of sweden. her research focuses on production system development and integration of human and organizational aspects in the change process and design phases of greenfield and brownfield production development projects. Ida Gremyr, Professor at the Department of technology Management and economics at chalmers University of technology. her research focuses on quality management practices, integration of quality management and sustainable development, and service management. Nina Bozic, PhD and senior researcher at Rise Research institutes of sweden. her research includes new ways of working in the hybrid work model, helping organizations navigate complexity and becoming resilient through new management models, self-leadership, and self-organized teams. Katrin Skagert, PhD and senior researcher at Rise Research institutes of sweden. her research concerns how work can be organized so that employees want and can do a good job and have a sustainable working life. Anna Williamsson, PhD and senior researcher at Rise Research institutes of sweden. her research concerns working life and work system sustainability, interactions between humans, technology and organization during change and work-life learning. Funding this research was funded by Vinnova, sweden’s innovation agency with additional funding from the XPRes (initiative for excellence in Production Research). ORCID andreas Wallo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0041-9624 Jason Martin http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5702-4885 Mattias elg http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4730-5453 Ulrika harlin http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2838-6457 ida gremyr http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7292-7217 nina Bozic http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6920-0428 Katrin skagert http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6583-7763 anna Williamsson http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5879-2280 Data availability statement Data available on request from the authors. cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 19 References alayón, c. l., säfsten, K., & Johansson, g. (2022). Barriers and enablers for the adoption of sustainable manufacturing by manufacturing sMes. Sustainability, 14(4), 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042364 alcalde-calonge, a., Ruiz-Palomino, P., & sáez-Martínez, F. J. (2022). the circularity of the business model and the performance of bioeconomy firms: an interactionist business-environment model. Cogent Business & Management, 9(1), 2140745. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2140745 alshibly, h. h., & alzubi, K. n. (2022). Unlock the black box of remote e-working effectiveness and e-hRM practices effect on organizational commitment. Cogent Business & Management, 9(1), 2153546. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331 1975.2022.2153546 anagnoste, s. (2017). Robotic automation process—the next major revolution in terms of back office operations improvement. Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, 11(1), 676–21. https://doi. org/10.1515/picbe-2017-0072 anshari, M., & hamdan, M. (2022). Understanding knowledge management and upskilling in Fourth industrial Revolution: transformational shift and seci model. VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, 52(3), 373–393. https://doi.org/10.1108/VJiKMs-09-2021-0203 Balasundaram, s., & Venkatagiri, s. (2020). a structured approach to implementing robotic process automation in hR. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1427(1), 012008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1427/1/012008 Burnett, J. R., & lisk, t. c. (2019). the future of employee engagement: Real-time monitoring and digital tools for engaging a workforce. International Studies of Management & Organization, 49(1), 108–119. https://doi.org/10.1080 /00208825.2019.1565097 Davenport, t. h. (2013). analytics 3.0. Harvard Business Review, 91(12), 64–72. Degerman, h. (2021). Barriers towards resilient performance among public critical infrastructure organizations: the Refugee influx case of 2015 in sweden. Infrastructures, 6(8), 106. https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures6080106 Delfino, g. F., & van der Kolk, B. (2021). Remote working, management control changes and employee responses during the cOViD-19 crisis. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 34(6), 1376–1387. https://doi.org/10.1108/ aaaJ-06-2020-4657 elg, M. (2022). Förstå, förutse & förbättra—Om mätningar och dataanalys för verksamhetsutveckling. studentlitteratur. european commission. (2021a). Industry 5.0: Towards a sustainable, human centric and resilient European industry. Publications Office. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/308407 european commission. (2021b). Strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027—Occupational safety and health in a changing world of work. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/tXt/?uri=celeX%3a52021Dc0323&q id=1626089672913#PP1contents Faber, n. R., Peters, K., Maruster, l., van haren, R., & Jorna, R. (2010). sense making of (social) sustainability. International Studies of Management & Organization, 40(3), 8–22. https://doi.org/10.2753/iMO0020-8825400301 Florez-Jimenez, M. P., lleo, a., Ruiz-Palomino, P., & Muñoz-Villamizar, a. F. (2024). corporate sustainability, organizational resilience, and corporate purpose: a review of the academic traditions connecting them. Review of Managerial Science. 1-38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-024-00735-3 gremyr, i., Bergquist, B., & elg, M. (2020). Quality management: An introduction. studentlitteratur. gremyr, i., Birch-Jensen, a., Kumar, M., & löfberg, n. (2022). Quality functions’ use of customer feedback as activation triggers for absorptive capacity and value co-creation. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 42(13), 218–242. https://doi.org/10.1108/iJOPM-11-2021-0692 halvarsson lundqvist, a., eklund, J., & hjelm, O. (2022). Grön omställning i svenska tillverkningsföretag: En interaktiv förstudie av omställningsprogram för små och medelstora företag (2022:3; HELIX Working papers). linköping University electronic Press. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-189876 harlin, U., & Berglund, M. (2021). Designing for sustainable work during industrial startups—the case of a high-growth entrepreneurial firm. Small Business Economics, 57(2), 807–819. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-020-00383-3 harlin, U., Berglund, M., skagert, K., Wallo, a., & elg, M. (2022). towards competitive sustainable work and green industrial transformation. in K. abrahamsson & R. ennals (eds.), Sustainable work in Europe: Concepts, conditions, challenges (pp. 189–212). Peter lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b19658 hedman, M. (2022). För en hållbar industri i Sverige. industriella Utvecklingscentra (iUc). https://storage.googleapis. com/iuc-se/uploads/2022/06/For-en-hallbar-industri-i-sverige_juni_2022.pdf iVa. (2021). Kompetensbrist hotar Sveriges konkurrenskraft. http://www.iva.se/publicerat/kompetensbrist-hota r-sveriges-konkurrenskraft/ Jackson, K., & Bazeley, P. (2019). Qualitative data analysis with NVivo (3rd ed.). sage Publications. Kaasinen, e., schmalfuß, F., Özturk, c., aromaa, s., Boubekeur, M., heilala, J., heikkilä, P., Kuula, t., liinasuo, M., Mach, s., Mehta, R., Petäjä, e., & Walter, t. (2020). empowering and engaging industrial workers with Operator 4.0 solutions. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 139, 105678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2019.01.052 Kurniawaty, K., Ramly, M., & Ramlawati, R. (2019). the effect of work environment, stress, and job satisfaction on employee turnover intention. Management Science Letters, 9(6), 877–886. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2019.3.001 lo, c. K. (2023). What is the impact of chatgPt on education? a rapid review of the literature. Education Sciences, 13(4), 410. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13040410 20 a. WallO etal. lundqvist, D., Reineholm, c., ståhl, c., & Wallo, a. (2022). the impact of leadership on employee well-being: On-site compared to working from home. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 2154. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14612-9 luttropp, c., & lagerstedt, J. (2006). ecodesign and the ten golden rules: generic advice for merging environmental aspects into product development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14(15–16), 1396–1408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jclepro.2005.11.022 Martin, J., Dang, Q. h., & gremyr, i. (2023). the influence of digitalisation on the role of quality professionals and their practices. Cogent Business & Management, 10(1), 2164162. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2164162 Maxwell, D., & van der Vorst, R. (2003). Developing sustainable products and services. Journal of Cleaner Production, 11(8), 883–895. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0959-6526(02)00164-6 Mehta, M., Pancholi, g., & saxena, a. (2024). Organizational resilience and sustainability: a bibliometric analysis. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2294513. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2294513 Miles, M. B., & huberman, a. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. sage. Modgil, s., singh, R. K., & agrawal, s. (2023). Developing human capabilities for supply chains: an industry 5.0 perspective. Annals of Operations Research. 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-023-05245-1 neely, a., gregory, M., & Platts, K. (1995). Performance measurement system design: a literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 15(4), 80–116. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443579510083622 Okoli, c., & Pawlowski, s. D. (2004). the Delphi method as a research tool: an example, design considerations and applications. Information & Management, 42(1), 15–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2003.11.002 Philbeck, t., & Davis, n. (2018). the Fourth industrial Revolution: shaping a new era. Journal of International Affairs, 72(1), 17–22. Pinzone, M., albè, F., Orlandelli, D., Barletta, i., Berlin, c., Johansson, B., & taisch, M. (2020). a framework for operative and social sustainability functionalities in human-centric cyber-physical production systems. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 139, 105132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2018.03.028 Rashid, W., ghani, U., Khan, K., & Usman, M. (2023). if you care i care: Role of green human resource management in employees green behaviors. Cogent Business & Management, 10(1), 2189768. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2189768 Ruiz-Palomino, P., Martínez-cañas, R., & Bañón-gomis, a. (2021). is unethical leadership a negative for employees’ personal growth and intention to stay? the buffering role of responsibility climate. European Management Review, 18(4), 535–549. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12461 säfsten, K., harlin, U., Johansen, K., larsson, l., Vult Von steyern, c., & Öhrwall Rönnbäck, a. (2022). towards resilient and sustainable production systems: a research agenda. Advances in Transdisciplinary Engineering. SPS2022, 768–780.https://doi.org/10.3233/atDe220195 sharma, a. (2016). Managing diversity and equality in the workplace. Cogent Business & Management, 3(1), 1212682. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2016.1212682 sindhwani, R., afridi, s., Kumar, a., Banaitis, a., luthra, s., & singh, P. l. (2022). can industry 5.0 revolutionize the wave of resilience and social value creation? a multi-criteria framework to analyze enablers. Technology in Society, 68, 101887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101887 singh, a. P., & Rahman, Z. (2021). integrating corporate sustainability and sustainable development goals: towards a multi-stakeholder framework. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), 1985686. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.202 1.1985686 suciu, M. c., Plesea, D. a., Petre, a., simion, a., Mituca, M. O., Dumitrescu, D., Bocaneala, a. M., Moroianu, R. M., & nasulea, D. F. (2023). core competence—as a key factor for a sustainable, innovative and resilient development model based on industry 5.0. Sustainability, 15(9), 7472. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097472 tamers, s. l., streit, J., Pana-cryan, R., Ray, t., syron, l., Flynn, M. a., castillo, D., Roth, g., geraci, c., guerin, R., schulte, P., henn, s., chang, c.-c., Felknor, s., & howard, J. (2020). envisioning the future of work to safeguard the safety, health, and well-being of the workforce: a perspective from the cDc’s national institute for Occupational safety and health. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 63(12), 1065–1084. https://doi.org/10.1002/ ajim.23183 tavella, e. (2022). strategizing in pluralistic organizations: extending theoretical frames to include disrupted contexts. International Studies of Management & Organization, 52(3–4), 185–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/00208825.2022.2131 228 Venn, R., Perez, P., & Vandenbussche, V. (2022). competencies of sustainability professionals: an empirical study on key competencies for sustainability. Sustainability, 14(9), 4916. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14094916 Verick, s., schmidt-Klau, D., & lee, s. (2022). is this time really different? how the impact of the cOViD-19 crisis on labour markets contrasts with that of the global financial crisis of 2008–09. International Labour Review, 161(1), 125–148. https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12230 Waage, s. a. (2007). Re-considering product design: a practical “road-map” for integration of sustainability issues. Journal of Cleaner Production, 15(7), 638–649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2005.11.026 Wallo, a., Kock, h., & nilsson, P. (2016). setting the stage for innovation: towards a conceptual model of the hR-innovation link. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 16(1/2), 100–120. https://doi.org/10.1504/iJhRDM.2016.075375 Wallo, a., lundqvist, D., & coetzer, a. (2024). learning-oriented leadership in organizations: an integrative review of qualitative studies. 1-46. Human Resource Development Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/15344843241239723 cOgent BUsiness & ManageMent 21 Whysall, Z., Owtram, M., & Brittain, s. (2019). the new talent management challenges of industry 4.0. Journal of Management Development, 38(2), 118–129. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-06-2018-0181 Wikhamn, W. (2019). innovation, sustainable hRM and customer satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 76, 102–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.04.009 Yarberry, s., & sims, c. (2021). the impact of cOViD-19-prompted virtual/remote work environments on employees’ career development: social learning theory, belongingness, and self-empowerment. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 23(3), 237–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/15234223211017850