The Fifth Industrial Revolution is Around the Corner. Is Your Company Prepared for the New Patterns of Human-Machine Interactions?

Within the last decades, with the rapid technological development, there are several key questions that are being raised.

What will be the future pattern of relationship between humans and technology? What are potential threats and benefits of this relationship? How can the companies be prepared?

In the article The Fifth Industrial Revolution: How Harmonious Human–Machine Collaboration is Triggering a Retail and Service [R]evolution, ? Stephanie Noble , Martin Mende,? Dhruv Grewal , and? A ("Parsu") Parasuraman answer these questions through tracing the history of industrial revolutions to introduce the emerging the fifth industrial revolution (5IR) and its potential impacts on retailers and service providers.

Following four industrial revolutions and their innovative technologies (steam engine during the first revolution, electricity-the second one, personal computers and internet-the third one, connectivity of machines and devices-the fourth one), the fifth industrial revolution is emerging. It is defined as a harmonious human-machine collaboration with a specific focus on the well-being of the multiple stakeholders.

From a retailing and service perspective, the authors outline the meaning of the 5IR with the use of a 2 × 2 framework that categorizes retailers and service providers by their embrace of human-machine collaborations. According to the proposed 2 × 2 framework, drawn from sociotechnical theory, the 5IR is epitomized when technological and human strengths get maximized synergistically, such that harmonious human-machine collaborations emerge, as in the Human-Technology Collaboration Quadrant.

There are two key distinctions that define 5IR-its focus on human-technology synergistic collaboration (rather than competition) and its goal of integrating technological and human strengths to achieve the well-being of an expansive list of societal stakeholders.

In the 5IR, actors seek to use these collaborations to achieve broader societal well-being, involving a wider list of stakeholders than previously have been targeted, such as companies, employees, customers, and society, and sustainable development goals involve all of them.

Despite all the potential benefits that human-technology collaboration might provide, as technological boundaries continue to be pushed, there are still some issues and concerns, such as ethical and humane uses of technology that could arise.

Additionally, to enable human-machine collaboration, the right conditions must emerge, across multiple levels.

With this article, the authors offer a starting point to consider some likely conditions that retailers and service firms need to consider to gear up for the 5IR.

While reading the article, we were impressed with clear and easy to understand approach that the authors provided to disentangle a complex topics of industrial revolution, future human-machine relationship, and recommendations of how the companies can be prepared to the new era of 5IR.

Interested in the behind-the-scene of the paper?

We were delighted with an opportunity to interview the authors and obtain additional information about the discussed topic and the whole process of writing such insightful article.

Below are the authors’ responses to our questions:

What did this conceptual paper's time evolution look like – from inception to revision rounds to the final publication?

The manuscript was a spin-off of another article currently in progress.?Our reviewers felt including information about industrial revolutions in this other paper was not needed so we spun that material into this 5IR manuscript.?Luckily for us, JR reviewers and the editors were willing to work with us to fine tune our ideas for publication.

Yours is an excellent paper by a team of four accomplished scholars. Could you please unpack for us the entire collaboration process?

The paper originally started as a ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ article but through the review process our reviewers suggested we look at Fifth Industrial Revolution concepts.?This was a great suggestion and as a result we pivoted to crafting a revised manuscript around the Fifth Industrial Revolution.??In terms of the process, we met frequently to discuss ideas. Once we had a draft of the 2X2 matrix and the basic ideas we wanted to put forth in the manuscript, we turned to writing the manuscript. Writing was easy due to the extensive outline we drafted as a group.

In the retail context, in your 4-quadrant framework with the classification of human-technology interaction, do you think the pattern of human-technology interaction might depend on the stage of purchasing journey, customer orientation towards shopping, or other consumer variables??

There are likely many variables that influence human-technology interactions, including the ones you note.?Much research has been conducted on technology readiness, which will definitely influence this relationship. Of course, we hope that our piece can help inspire scholars to extend our ideas (e.g., by adding moderators as you suggested) and test them empirically.

In the Human-Technology collaboration quadrant of your framework, we see two types of collaboration:?1)?humans equipped with technology or 2) technology backed up by humans. Which form of collaboration, in your opinion, will have a higher acceptance rate from stakeholders, and what will be the pattern of development of these two forms??

This is a really interesting question and one we had not discussed as a group. As with most phenomena in our profession, the answer is likely ‘it depends’.?For example, for hedonic experiences, humans equipped with technology likely would be accepted more and lead to higher satisfaction levels.?For more utilitarian experiences, technology backed by humans might be preferred. There are likely many more situational variables, as well as consumer level variables that influence which will have a higher acceptance rate from stakeholders.

Currently, when retailers have a chance to invest in technologies, many of them move into the Technology-focused quadrant. Which strategies could encourage them to not ignore the human touch and move into the Human-Technology collaboration quadrant? What could be the challenges?

What you’ve noted here is the difference between 4IR and 5IR. 4IR is exemplified by technologies automating tasks, speeding up processing, etc. but what is lacking in these situations are the strengths of human (empathy, creativity, etc).?One key challenge will be convincing key stakeholders (e.g., employees) that technologies can assist, rather than replace them.?This will be a shift in thinking which will be difficult to achieve.

For someone thinking of writing on an interesting, theoretically rigorous phenomenon, what are your suggestions for coming up with those great 2x2s or impact charts? Does it happen organically, or are there some tacit rules/ rituals you practice right from the beginning of the idea-inception??

The advice we have for scholars trying to write theoretical or conceptual articles would be to surround yourself with wonderful colleagues who have experience with these types of articles.?They can be hard to write and it takes a lot of input and revisions to develop 2X2 frameworks and conceptual models. We also suggest staying focused on having fun, being persistent, and drawing on the support of your co-authors. Manuscripts take years to craft and revise before being published so these latter points are critical.

We are thankful to the authors of the article for their contribution to the topic and valuable insights.

Click?here to access the full paper.?

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Meet the JR interviewers:

Gulnaz Rakhmatullina is a full time PhD student at Università Bocconi . She holds an MBA degree and has 7 years of experience in the Retail and Consumer Electronics industries. Previously provided market research and consulting services to producers and retailers in Consumer Electronics industry in Russia and Eastern European countries. Currently pursuing PhD in Marketing with research interest in “Technologies & Innovations in Retail/Metaverse”. ?(Email: [email protected])

Sudhanshu Bhatt is a marketing professional in a renowned pharmaceutical distribution company and a Research Fellow at XAVIER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT , Jamshedpur. He holds 12 years of rich experience working in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors in India and Europe. He holds an MBA degree from Rennes School of Business, France. (Email:?[email protected])

Meet the JR authors:

Stephanie Noble is the Proffitt’s Professor of Marketing and William B. Stokely Faculty Research Fellow in the Marketing Department at the University of Tennessee. Her primary research interests involve customer experience management in retail and service settings. Examples include the influence of each of the following on customers’ experiences: Frontline employees (e.g., proximity, territoriality issues), retailer relationship development efforts (e.g., loyalty programs, brand communities), and retailer strategy decisions (e.g., co-production, couponing). She has published in several top journals including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service Research, MIT Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review and many other outlets. Stephanie was a member of the American Marketing Association’s (AMA) Academic Council, has co-chaired the Summer AMA Educator’s Conference, has been a doctoral consortium faculty member for the Frontiers in Services, Academy of Marketing Science, and Society for Marketing Advances Conferences, and has been actively involved in the Relationship Marketing SIG (Vice Chair of Communications) for the AMA. Stephanie has been the recipient of many awards at the college level for her research and been nominated or a finalist for many mentoring awards including the AMA’s Erin Anderson Award and the Chancellor’s Excellence in Graduate Mentoring and Advising Award (The University of Tennessee). Stephanie is a recipient of the 2021 Poets & Quants Best Undergraduate Professors award. She has taught undergraduate, master’s/MBA and Ph.D. level courses. Her teaching interests are in marketing research, relationship marketing, retailing and services marketing. Stephanie has also provided consulting services for several leading companies including Viking Corporation, Hollywood Casino and Resorts, Houston Aeros, Laguna Tools, Mississippi Small Business Association, Food Lion, and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Stephanie serves as an Area Editor for the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, and is Co-Editor for the Journal of Service Research.

Martin Mende is the Jim Moran Professor of Business Administration in the Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing at Florida State University’s College of Business. Mende teaches marketing strategy, services marketing, retailing and marketing management at the undergraduate level and a doctoral seminar in consumer behavior theory. He also serves as the co-director of the college’ marketing major in the Ph.D. Program. At FSU, Mende has won college-wide and university-wide teaching awards. His previous teaching experience includes serving on the faculty at the University of Kentucky, Arizona State University and the Catholic University of Eichst?tt. Mende’s research focuses on relationship marketing, transformative service research and consumer-based strategy. His work is published in leading scholarly journals, including the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Marketing Letters and Journal of Business Research. He serves as an area editor for the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and associate editor for the Journal of Service Research. He has served as a guest editor for a special section of the Journal of Retailing on Organizational Frontlines Research. He also serves on the editorial review boards for the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, the Journal of Retailing and the Journal of Business Research. Mende is a board member (Program Officer) for the American Marketing Association (AMA) Services Special Interest Group (SERVSIG) and a research faculty for ASU’s Center for Services Leadership. Mende also serves on the ACR Transformative Consumer Research Advisory Board. He has co-chaired international conferences, including the Organizational Frontlines Conference and the 2019 Transformative Consumer Research Conference. Mende’s research has been recognized with numerous international awards. He was recognized as the 2017 AMA Marketing and Society Special Interest Group (MASSIG) Emerging Scholar, as well as the 2017 AMA SERVSIG Emerging Scholar. His research has won first place in the Fisher IMS & AMA Services SIG Dissertation Proposal Competition and a Best Paper Award from the Journal of Service Research. In addition, his research has won multiple Marketing Science Institute Grants and ACR Transformative Consumer Research Grants. Mende received his master’s degree in business administration and a doctoral degree in business administration with a focus in management from Catholic University of Eichst?tt in Germany. He received a second doctoral degree in business administration with a focus in marketing from Arizona State University.

Dhruv Grewal (Ph.D. Virginia Tech) is the Toyota Chair in Commerce and Electronic Business and a Professor of Marketing at Babson College. His research and teaching interests focus on direct marketing and e-commerce, marketing research, the broad areas of value-based marketing strategies, services and retailing, and pricing. He is also a GSBE Extramural Fellow, Maastricht University and a Fractional Professor of Marketing, University of Bath. He has been an Honorary Distinguished Visiting Professor of Retailing and Marketing, Tecnologico de Monterrey, a Global Chair in Marketing at University of Bath and an Honorary Distinguished Visiting Professor of Retailing and Marketing, Center for Retailing, Stockholm School of Economics and a Visiting Scholar at Dartmouth. He has also served as a faculty member at the University of Miami, where he has also served as a department chair. He has won a number of awards for his research and has co-edited a number of special issues for numerous journals of repute. He has won many awards for his teaching: 2005 Sherwin-Williams Distinguished Teaching Award, Society for Marketing Advances, 2003 American Marketing Association, Award for Innovative Excellence in Marketing Education, 1999 Academy of Marketing Science Great Teachers in Marketing Award, Executive MBA Teaching Excellence Award (1998), School of Business Teaching Excellence Awards (1993, 1999), and Virginia Tech Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Teaching (1989). He has taught executive seminars/courses and/or worked on research projects with numerous firms, such as Dell, ExxonMobil, IRI, Radio Shack, Telcordia, Khimetriks, Profit-Logic, McKinsey, Ericsson, Motorola, Nextel, FP&L, Lucent, Sabre, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Sherwin Williams, and Asahi. He has delivered seminars in US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. He has served as an expert witness or worked as a consultant on numerous legal cases. He has served on the Board of Directors of Babson Global and on the Board of Trustees of Marketing Edge.

A ("Parsu") Parasuraman is an Emeritus Professor and Holder of the James W. McLamore Chair in Marketing at the School of Business, University of Miami. He is also the Chairperson of AIM Parasuraman Centre for Service Excellence at Jagdish Sheth School of Management. Dr. Parasuraman was selected as one of the "Ten Most Influential Figures in Quality" in 1988 by the editorial board of The Quality Review, co-published by the American Quality Foundation and the American Society for Quality Control. He received the Academy of Marketing Science’s “Outstanding Marketing Educator Award” in 2001 and was designated as a “Distinguished Fellow” of the Academy in 2004. He has also been named to the Chartered Institute of Marketing (U.K.)’s “Guru Gallery,” which profiles the 50 leading marketing thinkers worldwide. Dr. Parasuraman has published over 137 articles in scholarly journals and has served as the editor of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (1997- 2000) and the Journal of Service Research (2005-2009). He has authored several books, consulted with many companies, and conducted several executive seminars on service quality, customer satisfaction and the role of technology in service delivery across the globe.