Digitalization is rushing throughout the world, namely, in industrial and societal infrastructures. Hence, digital transformation becomes a pillar of industrial policy, known in Europe as “Industry 4.0,” in China as “made in China 2025,” in Asia as “Smart Cities,” in Japan as “Society 5.0,” and in North America as “Industrial Internet.” These transformations will change the industrial landscape, toward Quality 4.0 and therefore, our lives. The presented research was conducted on quality management employees in Portugal and it aims to analyze if such employees have the perception of the impact of Industry 4.0 in the quality management profession and the required and needed skills. After analyzing the answered questionnaires, 90 results were considered valid. This is the sample of our study. Simultaneously, the goal of this research is also to review and analyze the main topics in progress related to quality management for the fourth industrial revolution and how quality emerges of this change. The professionals that work on quality management must have creative thinking, be leaders, know how to communicate and work as a team, as well as, to have knowledge and understanding of ICT (Information and Communications Technology), and main pillars of Industry 4.0. These are the main findings. Besides that, they must know how to motivate their work teams, be open to change, know how to use Big Data to make decisions and above all, they must know how to manage conflicts. In addition, quality professionals must promote the design and production of first class products, be the defenders of their customers within the organization, and finally, they must create value for the stakeholders.

The integration of Industry 4.0 technologies, Circular Economy (CE) principles, and Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) offers transformative potential to address global sustainability challenges. Industry 4.0, characterized by advanced digital technologies like IoT, Additive Manufacturing (AM), and Big Data Analytics (BDAA), enhances operational efficiency, resource optimization, and waste minimization. Concurrently, CE redefines economic models through resource conservation, lifecycle extension, and reduced environmental impact, supported by frameworks like ReSOLVE. GHRM aligns human resource practices with sustainability objectives, fostering Green behaviors and embedding environmental considerations into organizational culture. Despite the individual benefits of these frameworks, their combined application remains underexplored, with limited research on their systemic integration. This study addresses this gap by examining the synergies between Industry 4.0 technologies, CE principles, and GHRM strategies, identifying opportunities and challenges in their implementation. A theoretical model is proposed, emphasizing systemic innovation, resource efficiency, and collaborative value chains as key enablers of sustainable development. The model highlights the necessity of aligning technological advancements with human-centric approaches to overcome behavioral, organizational, and infrastructural barriers in transitioning toward sustainability. The findings offer practical insights for policymakers and industry leaders, outlining strategies for integrating Industry 4.0 with CE and GHRM to drive sustainability transitions. By synthesizing technological, environmental, and human resource dimensions, this research contributes both theoretically and practically, positioning organizations to enhance sustainability while maintaining competitiveness in evolving economic landscapes.

Purpose: This research aims to focus on the idea management system (IMS) with the main purpose of identifying and describing the factors that promote success in managing ideas, grounded on the analysis of case studies. Design/methodology/approach: The method used consists of a case study and semi-structured interviews with those directly responsible for the management of ideas from four companies, which are presented in this paper. Findings: The main findings, critical for the success of an IMS, are as follow: the involvement of top management, evidence of results, establishment of goals and objectives, dissemination of good results, willingness to share and develop ideas, complete transparency in the management of ideas, maintenance of dynamic and proactive attitudes and mainly recognition. All have been described. Research limitations/implications: This work presents a preliminary framework for further research toward the study of CSFs inherent to IMSs that is still bound by the limited number of case studies presented. Further research should be undertaken to broaden and consolidate the presented CFSs and their pertinence. Originality/value: This study, although limited to four case studies, presents conclusive results that support managers of suggestion systems/IMSs in improving or deploying such systems. The main factors were identified and described. They can contribute to the effectiveness of employee suggestion system. It can be reasoned from this investigation that the contributions from employees toward the success of a company leads to excellence in business.

The transformation from traditional financial methods to the adoption of new financial technologies is a key challenge for micro and small business enterprises in ensuring sustainability. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the key factors of financial literacy and examining their significance in adoption of FinTech by MSEs in Odisha that leads to sustainability of the firm. The study has been conducted using the MCDM technique integrating grey Delphi for relevant factor identification and Fuzzy AHP for prioritizing the factors of financial literacy. In total, 33 financial literacy factors were initially identified through extensive literature review, which were reduced to 18 factors using grey Delphi. Further, these factors were prioritized on the level of their significance towards FinTech adoption, using fuzzy AHP. The results of the study highlighted that financial knowledge holds greater significance among all four criteria of financial literacy, i.e., financial knowledge, financial behaviour, financial attitude, and financial training, towards adoption of FinTech ensuring sustainability in MSEs. The prioritization of the factors further revealed that knowledge of current products and services, evaluation of FinTech products, expenditure behaviour, assurance for the future security, and financial education have the most significant impact on the adoption of FinTech services by entrepreneurs. The study is innovative as it shows the importance of financial literacy factors in influencing the adoption of FinTech by micro and small businesses, which helps in ensuring firms’ sustainability. The results of the study have come up with some key factors, which need to be considered at priority basis if an MSE is willing to adopt FinTech services for its operations to ensure sustainable practices.