The deep analysis of the individual cases, together with the combined analysis of the cases, will address the following research themes in an evidence-based manner.

• Implementation practices: How do companies, local innovation ecosystems or industry sectors implement Industry 5.0 principles in practice? Which modes of implementation exist? How does industry go beyond the state-of-the-art and innovate, for instance with respect to the purposeful application of technology, work organisation and production, organisation and operation of supply chains, worker tasks and functions, training and skills, human resources management, sustainable business models and resilient value chains, long-term value creation, corporate governance, climate transition and sustainability plans, stakeholder engagement, partnerships and networks, etc.
• Drivers: What are the drivers for companies, industry sectors or industrial ecosystems to adapt (or not) Industry 5.0 principles? Which trade-offs may have to be made? Which role do public policies and regulatory environment play? How does successful implementation of Industry 5.0 principles provide advantage on multiple dimensions such as (global) competitiveness, reputation, attractiveness for talent and for investment, enhanced generation of qualified jobs, adaptive capacity to incremental changes and sudden disruptions (e.g. by reduction of dependencies), progress towards climate change objectives, etc.
• Success factors and bottlenecks: What are the factors, either internal or external to the company, that contribute or hinder the uptake and implementation of Industry 5.0 principles? How do workers accept and relate to advanced technology in the work place? What is the role of the embedding of a company in the local community? What are the factors that could diminish or reinforce inequalities through the implementation of advanced technologies in the work place? What is the added value of considering sustainability aspects, including science-based targets, in defining the business strategy?
• SMEs/start-ups/scale-ups: How can/do SMEs/start-ups/scale-ups take up Industry 5.0 principles and what is the role of the local innovation ecosystem in this? How does it help these types of enterprises to participate successfully in the green and digital transition of industry?
• Measurement: The project will investigate state-of-the-art quantitative and qualitative tools for measuring progress towards Industry 5.0 in its three dimensions of resilience, sustainability and human-centricity and how they can be applied in practice.