Society 5.0: Human-Focused Digital Transformation

Societies today are transforming rapidly owing to impacts from sources as diverse as climate change and environmental problems, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Industry 4.0. In particular, the potential benefits created by the fourth industrial revolution in the production and industrial sectors have forced businesses to make dramatic transformations. However, Industry 4.0 focuses on productivity in production and industry but falls short on social issues, such as climate change, various diseases, and ecological balance; the vision of Society 5.0 or Industry 5.0 is to correct this deficiency. Society 5.0 refers to societies’ transformations from information to super-intelligent societies, a more sustainable model, integrating societies with Industry 4.0 to solve problems. This study aimed to contribute to the literature by expanding the understanding of Society 5.0 in terms of its place, importance, efficiency, and potential as a basis for future studies. In this context, some conceptual inferences were made by examining the studies in the related literature. Findings indicate a significant role for the vision of Society 5.0 on societies’ well-being and achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, Society 5.0 is crucial for Turkey’s international economic and social competitiveness. The objective was to raise awareness by drawing a theoretical framework and encouraging future research on Society 5.0 with emphasis on more details in terms of practices and strategies, especially in the domestic literature.