Industry 5.0: revolution or repackaging? unveiling the ambiguities of the new industrial era

The fifth industrial revolution – also named Industry 5.0 – emerged to address the shortcomings of Industry 4.0 and recognize human centrality, resilience, and sustainability. Despite the significance of elements associated with Industry 5.0, the concept has generated disagreements regarding its meaning and scope. In response to this issue, this study aims to investigate the current state of knowledge on Industry 5.0 and the ambiguities that persist in literature from a socio-technical perspective. To achieve this, a systematic, critical, and reflective literature review anchored in the Bibliometric–Systematic Literature Review (B-SLR) framework was conducted to identify its key elements and to discuss the necessity – or lack thereof – of a new industrial revolution. The findings indicate that, while previous industrial revolutions were characterized by profound transformations in organizations and society, there is no substantial change that would justify a fifth revolution. The elements commonly associated with Industry 5.0 have long been discussed within the context of Industry 4.0, emphasizing actions aimed at making firms more sustainable, resilient, and human-centered. Based on this evidence, this research contributes to theory by proposing a new socio-technical perspective on Industry 4.0, conceived as an evolutionary and normative reorientation of Industry 4.0, while discarding the idea of a fifth industrial revolution. The study also presents a conceptual framework for the integration of sustainability, resilience, and human-centricity within Industry 4.0, formulates propositions, and offers a research agenda capable of guiding and inspiring future studies.