From Digital Readiness to Adaptive Workforce: A Systematic Review of Workforce Agility, Adaptive Performance, and Employee Digital Adaptability in Industry 5.0

Abstract

The accelerating transition toward Industry 5.0 has fundamentally redefined the parameters of workforce competitiveness, shifting the organizational imperative from technological adoption to the cultivation of adaptive human capital. This systematic literature review examines the conceptual and empirical relationships among digital readiness, workforce agility, adaptive performance, and employee digital adaptability within the transformative context of Industry 5.0. Drawing on a thematic synthesis of 30 peer-reviewed studies published between 2017 and 2026, this review identifies the mechanisms through which digital readiness functions as a strategic antecedent of adaptive workforce capacity, while positioning learning agility as a critical amplifying construct that moderates these relationships. The findings reveal three persistent gaps in the existing literature: the fragmented treatment of adaptive workforce dimensions as isolated constructs rather than an integrated system; the underexplored role of learning agility as a boundary condition in digital transformation outcomes; and the insufficient empirical attention directed toward emerging digital economies, where infrastructure constraints and institutional heterogeneity produce dynamics that differ substantially from those documented in advanced economies. This review contributes a consolidated theoretical framework that integrates dynamic capabilities theory, human capital theory, and adaptive capability perspectives to explain how organizations can systematically build workforce resilience and digital adaptability in the human-centric paradigm of Industry 5.0. The practical implications are particularly relevant for public sector organizations, state-owned enterprises, and higher education institutions operating in digitally transitioning regions, where evidence-based workforce development strategies remain critically underdeveloped