Table 5 Future research questions (FRQs)... | Emerald Publishing

Table 5

Future research questions (FRQs) based on overarching research themes

Sub theme	Trust through Technology FRQs	Responsible Relationships FRQs	Freedom through Flexibility FRQs)
Employment Practices	“What opportunities do Industry 4.0 offer to reduce bias in employee evaluations through verified real-time data? Further, how can these technologies ensure confidentiality and fair inclusion and diversity in organisations?”	“How can Industry 4.0 technologies aid in developing and monitoring sustainable employment practices to reduce unethical practices, ensure job satisfaction and increase productivity?”	“What operations risk management capabilities do organisations gain by adopting technology for SROP in comparison to non-digitalised organisations?”
Health and Safety	“What capabilities do Industry 4.0 technologies possess to mitigate health and safety incidents? Further, how can organisations improve health and safety practices through these technologies to build employees' trust in technology?”	Which technologies can aid in better predictions of organisational and wider community health? Further, how can employees from different socioeconomic backgrounds be included and represented for accurate predictions to reduce operational disruptions?”	“To what extent can Industry 4.0 technologies aid in predicting the spread of infectious diseases through global and regional supply chains and prescribing alternative solutions to minimise disruptions?”
Business Practices	“Given the vast opportunities that Industry 4.0 technologies offer in improving supply chain transparency for efficiency and SROP, why is highly-integrated adoption across different industries still low?”	“How can financially constrained SMEs in a multi-tier supply chain context be incentivised to implement Industry 4.0 technology to ensure integrated and fair value chains”?	“What competitive advantages do organisations adopting Industry 4.0 technology for SROP gain? Are there impacts on economic and environmental sustainability dimensions?”
Quality of Life and Social Welfare	“How can Industry 4.0-based training help in improving community awareness and education to build trust in technology? How can this help organisations in the long-term when hiring local talent?”	“How can organisations use Industry 4.0 technologies for welfare based new product development by integrating SROP and wider sustainability to promote positive social impacts of products (e.g. through product life cycle analysis)?”	“What predictive capabilities do Industry 4.0 technologies offer for proactive disaster management from organisational and community perspectives to reduce economic impacts and ensure continued operations for economic survival?”
Social Governance	“How effective are Industry 4.0 technologies in identifying and prescribing the most beneficial CSR projects from a community perspective? What factors will be considered to ensure the spend is effective?”	“To what extent can Industry 4.0 technologies be used by organisations to integrate external stakeholders and ensure collective voices are accounted for when making community-based decisions? Does this help or hinder any traditional community influence on CSR projects undertaken by organisations?”	“What is the relationship between using Industry 4.0 technology-based CSR spend and organisational growth? Does this benefit the community positively in comparison to existing CSR spend allocation?”
Economic Welfare and Growth	“How can Industry 4.0 technologies aid in creating job opportunities for community development and growth? What skills and training are required to improve local talent hiring and retention?”	“What opportunities do Industry 4.0 technologies offer in improving local sourcing from SMEs, marginalised suppliers, women-owned businesses and social enterprises to develop economic growth and community standards of living?”	“To what extent can Industry 4.0 technologies be employed to reshore and localise supply chains? Which technologies are best suited to achieve this transition with minimum economic impact?”

Sub theme	Trust through Technology FRQs	Responsible Relationships FRQs	Freedom through Flexibility FRQs)
Employment Practices	“What opportunities do Industry 4.0 offer to reduce bias in employee evaluations through verified real-time data? Further, how can these technologies ensure confidentiality and fair inclusion and diversity in organisations?”	“How can Industry 4.0 technologies aid in developing and monitoring sustainable employment practices to reduce unethical practices, ensure job satisfaction and increase productivity?”	“What operations risk management capabilities do organisations gain by adopting technology for SROP in comparison to non-digitalised organisations?”
Health and Safety	“What capabilities do Industry 4.0 technologies possess to mitigate health and safety incidents? Further, how can organisations improve health and safety practices through these technologies to build employees' trust in technology?”	Which technologies can aid in better predictions of organisational and wider community health? Further, how can employees from different socioeconomic backgrounds be included and represented for accurate predictions to reduce operational disruptions?”	“To what extent can Industry 4.0 technologies aid in predicting the spread of infectious diseases through global and regional supply chains and prescribing alternative solutions to minimise disruptions?”
Business Practices	“Given the vast opportunities that Industry 4.0 technologies offer in improving supply chain transparency for efficiency and SROP, why is highly-integrated adoption across different industries still low?”	“How can financially constrained SMEs in a multi-tier supply chain context be incentivised to implement Industry 4.0 technology to ensure integrated and fair value chains”?	“What competitive advantages do organisations adopting Industry 4.0 technology for SROP gain? Are there impacts on economic and environmental sustainability dimensions?”
Quality of Life and Social Welfare	“How can Industry 4.0-based training help in improving community awareness and education to build trust in technology? How can this help organisations in the long-term when hiring local talent?”	“How can organisations use Industry 4.0 technologies for welfare based new product development by integrating SROP and wider sustainability to promote positive social impacts of products (e.g. through product life cycle analysis)?”	“What predictive capabilities do Industry 4.0 technologies offer for proactive disaster management from organisational and community perspectives to reduce economic impacts and ensure continued operations for economic survival?”
Social Governance	“How effective are Industry 4.0 technologies in identifying and prescribing the most beneficial CSR projects from a community perspective? What factors will be considered to ensure the spend is effective?”	“To what extent can Industry 4.0 technologies be used by organisations to integrate external stakeholders and ensure collective voices are accounted for when making community-based decisions? Does this help or hinder any traditional community influence on CSR projects undertaken by organisations?”	“What is the relationship between using Industry 4.0 technology-based CSR spend and organisational growth? Does this benefit the community positively in comparison to existing CSR spend allocation?”
Economic Welfare and Growth	“How can Industry 4.0 technologies aid in creating job opportunities for community development and growth? What skills and training are required to improve local talent hiring and retention?”	“What opportunities do Industry 4.0 technologies offer in improving local sourcing from SMEs, marginalised suppliers, women-owned businesses and social enterprises to develop economic growth and community standards of living?”	“To what extent can Industry 4.0 technologies be employed to reshore and localise supply chains? Which technologies are best suited to achieve this transition with minimum economic impact?”