Startups in the Era of Industry 4.0 and 5.0: Technologies, Decisions, Framing, and Competences

This article investigates the evolving domain of Startup 4.0/5.0, which leverages advanced Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies to support startups’ processes and activities. As startups face increasing complexity and competitiveness, understanding how digital innovations and emerging approaches contribute to improved performance, agility, and innovation becomes essential. Through a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles published up to December 2024, this study maps the current research landscape. The review responds to key research questions related to business sectors, applied tools, decision objectives, conceptual framings, and required skills and competences. Findings reveal a growing yet still underexplored field, with multidisciplinary relevance and a concentration of research in countries like Brazil and Germany, spanning sectors such as Advanced Manufacturing, Agrotech, Healthcare, and Education. Most reviewed works emphasize technical, managerial, and market-oriented perspectives, focusing on productivity and competitiveness, while elements central to Industry 5.0, such as sustainability, human-centric design, and resilience, remain marginal, appearing in few studies. Decision objectives were classified into key areas, including innovation, sustainability, digital transformation, and interinstitutional collaboration, highlighting the strategic role of digital technologies in business model redesign and ecosystem development. Moreover, the review identifies critical competences required for professionals in Startup 4.0/5.0 contexts, organizing several core competences into personal, social, and cultural categories and linking them to specific technologies, aiming to inform workforce training and behavioral change. By synthesizing these insights, the article contributes to a deeper theoretical understanding of Startup 4.0/5.0 and offers practical implications for this field.