Driving sustainability in industry 5.0 through sociotechnical approach of quality management

Industry 4.0 is primarily driven by technology, while Industry 5.0 (I5.0) places more emphasis on the interaction between human (socio) and technology (technical) aspects in shaping sustainability. Although I5.0 represents a burgeoning area of research, however, there remains a paucity of research on the sociotechnical perspective of quality management (QM) and sustainability in I5.0. This study intends to investigate the direct and indirect effects of socio-technical components of QM on sustainable performance through agile manufacturing, as well as the moderating role of firm size on these relationships. Data is gathered from 298 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through a survey approach employing proportionate stratified sampling techniques. The findings support the socio-technical view of QM in Industry 5.0. Unexpectedly, employee education and training has no significant role in enhancing technical QM practices. Furthermore, QM and agile manufacturing are crucial to achieving sustainable performance in manufacturing SMEs. Finally, firm size has played a significant role as a moderating variable, particularly in I5.0. Based on the findings, the study offers novel theoretical contributions and practical implications by shedding light on the nuanced role of QM and agile manufacturing on sustainability within Malaysian manufacturing SMEs.