Motivated by the project uncertainties of complex realities brought by the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0 (I4.0), researchers must look at Lean project management (LPM) soft skills as a new mindset to have a holistic view of customer needs and to improve value to the organization. In the digital transformation era, it is essential that Lean practitioners develop socio-technical thinking while also prioritizing interpersonal soft skills that directly affect their ability to solve problems in order for the company to grow sustainably. This paper aims to identify the critical soft skills (CSSs) to implement LPM in the I4.0 era and to investigate, from the perspective of organizations, the latent factors for LPM implementation that generate sustainable value. For this purpose, a mixed-method approach was used, combining literature review and a survey with 166 Brazilian professionals. This empirical study intends to set the CSSs from a practice perspective and explore the benefits they generate throughout the organization. Data analysis was conducted with descriptive statistics and factorial analysis. Research findings revealed convergences regarding the practitioners’ perception regarding the ten CSSs identified in the literature, and portray two latent factors, human and process factors, which can assist decision-makers in implementing LPM by offering a better perspective of the key factors that add sustainable value for companies in the digital transformation context. This study contributes to the debate on rethinking traditional skills, accentuates the need for adjustments, and proposes a socio-technical framework that can be used in a project manager’s routine to enable better Lean project execution, help with decision making, and increase the understanding and meeting of customer needs.

The international scientific community considers Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) as one of the main themes related to innovation and economic development. This article presents a review based on Scopus and ISI Web of Knowledge databases, on the KIBS topic in the world, considering the period 2000-2017. The study aimed to understand the role of KIBS in regional development, and they were considered in their roles as innovations’ attributes and resources, methodologies and tools for innovation management, transfer, knowledge diffusion and networks. They concentrate in the areas of business, management and economics, developing approaches to seek innovation, competitiveness and economic development.

Goal: Raise in the literature of project and process management the critical success factors needed to implement a competitive strategy aiming to rank them and to recommend guidelines for a successful competitive strategy implementation. Design / Methodology / Approach: In order to reach the desired objectives, a research was carried out in the literature, enabling the creation of the questionnaire applied as a data collection instrument and the use of relative frequency analysis and measure of central tendency, mode, as the statistical treatments. Results: All the 42 requirements raised in the literature were considered as critical success factors for competitive strategy implementation and the analysis of the professionals' answers made it possible to include a further 12 critical success factors. Limitations of the investigation: The size of the sample, which was conditioned to the number of respondents of the questionnaire distributed by electronic means. And because the size of the population is unknown it is not possible to realize generalizations. Practical implications: A recommendation for companies was prepared through four priority actions in the competitive strategy implementation. The research concluded that beyond the pillar’s strategy, processes and projects, people, in the figure of client or employees, need to be included as one of the bases for competitive advantage. Originality / Value: The scheme ranking the requirements relevance for competitive strategy implementation is a way to support companies to promote actions to adapt the corporate environment so that all of productive links are aligned with the strategic objectives.

Objetivo: Analisar a aderência dos Relatos Integrados (RIs) de uma amostra composta por três empresas brasileiras ao Framework do IIRC (International Integrated Reporting Council) e compreender a contribuição do nível de qualidade desses relatórios para o desempenho econômico das empresas adotantes. Metodologia: As empresas foram selecionadas no banco de dados do IIRC. Utilizando como referência o método apresentado por Kiliç e Kuzey (2018), foi adaptado um modelo de ID (Índice de Divulgação), através da técnica de análise de conteúdo, para mensurar o nível de aderência dos Relatos ao Framework. Após o cálculo dos IDs, foram analisados o Coeficiente de Variação (CV) de índices de liquidez e solvência das empresas e o desempenho macroeconômico do período pesquisado, objetivando constatar se os RIs aderentes ao Framework estão associados ao desempenho econômico das empresas. Resultados: Os resultados da análise apontam que não é possível afirmar que elevados níveis de aderência ao Framework estão associados ao desempenho econômico das empresas, haja vista que o cálculo do CV dos índices financeiros, durante o período de publicações dos RIs, não apresenta uma dispersão menor quando comparados ao período anterior a tais publicações Contribuição do estudo: As pesquisas recentes a respeito do tema Relato Integrado não apresentam uma relação entre a aderência das publicações ao Framework do IIRC e o desempenho econômico de empresas brasileiras. Desse modo, este estudo demonstra-se relevante ao pesquisar o conteúdo dos Relatos Integrados publicados por empresas brasileiras e o relacionamento dessas informações com o desempenho econômico, verificando se os Relatos Integrados cumprem a promessa de entregar benefícios econômicos aos adotantes do modelo.

We are delighted to present this comprehensive editorial note summarizing the seven papers published in response to our Call for Papers on "When Titans Meet – Industry 4.0, Lean, and Circular Economy opportunities towards operational excellence and sustainability." This special issue aimed to explore the convergence of Industry 4.0 (I4.0), Lean Management (LM), and Circular Economy (CE) practices and their implications for achieving sustainability in various domains. The papers selected for this special issue provide valuable insights into this evolving field.