PurposeSustainable human resource management highlights the importance of the eighth sustainable development goal, “decent work and economic growth”. Thus, the purpose of this study is to align human resource practices and policies with Industry 4.0 is imperative.Design/methodology/approachThe authors aimed to identify key challenges of sustainable human resource implementation in view of Industry 4.0 and to analyse these identified challenges by prioritising them for effective Industry 4.0 implementation in an emerging economy such as India. A mixed-methods approach was utilised to prioritise identified challenges. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts, academicians and industry mangers. Transcribed interviews were run in NVivo to emerge into broad themes/challenges, which were prioritised using fuzzy best–worst methodology.FindingsThe performance appraisal challenge holds maximum importance, followed by learning and development. This finding signifies the need for instilling job security and continuous learning opportunities for employees amidst all disruption caused by Industry 4.0.Practical implicationsThis work enhances the link between sustainability, disruptive technologies and Industry 4.0 to transform economic outlooks, leading to improvement under economic aspects through the adoption of sustainable human resource practices into workplaces and society.Originality/valueSustainable human resource management has mostly focused on employee welfare. However, the major challenges of disruption caused by Industry 4.0 have not been addressed in the literature. The upskilling and reskilling requirements due to disruptions by Industry 4.0 range from recruitment to performance appraisal and every facet that relates to an employee's cycle in a company. Hence, there is a need to identify critical challenges for optimum adaptation to upcoming industry demands.
The business world is becoming increasingly complex, disrupted, and uncertain. As Industry 4.0 (I4.0) takes shape, to endure this change and focus on growth, industries must learn to embrace change and move quickly; this is particularly so for the automotive industry, which is a major sector of any economy. Agility is needed to embrace this change and promote sustainability across every industry. To face these contingencies, it is essential to identify and understand the strategies that can aid industries in sustaining real‐time scenarios. In this paper, we aim to assess the agility indicators that bring resilience to the inclusion of I4.0 and sustainability in the automotive sector. The unexpected changes in the environment related to sustainability and technological disruptions of I4.0 require the identification of sustainable agile mitigation strategies to manage such situations. The fuzzy Delphi methodology assesses agility indicators based on a questionnaire for prioritization. Further, the fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is utilized to prioritize these agility indicators with the agility strategies that manufacturing industries can deploy to enhance the sustainability of their operations. The fuzzy extension to the methodologies helps in incorporating vagueness and ambiguity in the decision‐making process. A fuzzy approach to prioritizing agile strategies as the industries are changing is helpful. The decision makers have only a few clear ideas about how best to integrate them. Among the agile strategies, “resilience,” “technological capabilities,” and “customer‐centric innovation” are the top strategies. By executing the strategies suggested in the study and understanding the agility indicators, practitioners can ensure resilience in the work systems and minimize the impact of the disruptions caused by the industrial revolution. Thus, this research has been underpinned by the organizational change theory and discusses all mitigation strategies concerning the rapid changes organizations are facing with the fourth industrial revolution.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.