Agile Leadership for Industry 4.0: An Indispensable Approach for the Digital Era

This new volume explores the new paradigm that is Industry 4.0—the application of information-intensive technologies that integrate software, hardware, and biology (cyber-physical systems) for effective manufacturing and related industries, focusing specifically on leadership that can respond quickly and effectively to changing conditions. This volume applies these skills to leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, skills that can be applied to many other changing conditions as well. This book effectively brings to the fore how the pandemic and Industry 4.0 are bringing agile leadership into focus.

The book’s main themes are theories of agile leadership and how technology and the COVID-19 pandemic have affected such theories; the role of virtual leadership in an age of working from home; case studies that provide valuable lessons for the agile leader; and the crucial role of human resources in providing agile leadership to an organization. The volume aggregates original theoretical, conceptual, and empirical research on challenges and opportunities in the context of Industry 4.0 and facilitates agility in management. The chapters investigate the new leadership styles and related frameworks for assessing a postmodern leadership style—agile leadership—in relation to the need for effective and work in 4.0 dynamic environment.

This book encompasses various studies and frameworks in agile leadership in the context of Industry 4.0, dynamic leadership related issues, intent-based leadership, agile mindset, fostering collaboration, cross-functional team management, strategic implementations, strategies for diversity initiatives, workplace flexibility, knowledge management, and personalization in industry.

The diverse topics explore

• role of the internet
• technological unemployment, leadership and entrepreneurship
• big data
• human resources in industry 4.0
• managing human capital and employee engagement
• virtual leadership
• the power of empathy
• role of leadership in sexual harassment in the workplace
• the agile personality and management behavior
• more

Acting as a practical and theoretical guide in explaining and articulating agile leadership, this volume will be of interest and value to academics and practicing managers alike. Forward-thinking organizations find these chapters instructive in helping them evolve, along with their leadership resources.

Tanusree Chakraborty, PhD, is currently a faculty member at the Centre for Management Studies, Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, in India. With 17 years of overall work experience and 16 years of academic experience, Dr. Chakraborty has been associated with several reputable business schools and universities in India. She is presently working with Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, in organizational behavior/human resource management. She is a former research fellow of the Indian Council of Medical Research and has many publications to her credit in Scopus-indexed and ABDC-listed journals, as well as in University Grants Commission-approved journals. She has presented research papers at several conferences and is an empaneled corporate trainer with training consultancies and government productivity councils. She has conducted over 150 corporate training programs in the areas of behavioral science and HR and psychometrics. She has been an active member in clubs and committees of the institutes she has worked for. She has been editor of several journals and newsletters and a reviewer for many journals. She is currently working on multiple edited books with reputed publishers. Dr. Chakraborty holds a PhD in Applied Psychology from Calcutta University, India; an MA (Applied Psychology) with a specialization in Organizational Psychology; a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management; and MBA (Human Resources).

, is Director for the China Study Centre and Assistant Professor of Marketing at COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan. He is also affiliated as a senior research fellow of the China Brand Centre, Academy of Entrepreneurship at Sun Yat-sen Business School, Guangzhou, China. He serves as an editorial board member for various journals of repute and regularly appears in Chinese and Pakistani print and electronic media as a branding expert. He also provides consultancies to local and international development sectors for community development and branding programs. Dr. Awan holds a PhD in marketing from Sun Yat-sen Business School, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

, was formerly at the College of Business Administration, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, USA. He has over 15 years of experience in the academic arena in addition to more than five years of experience as a practising manager, both in the USA and India. In addition, he has been a consultant on several business valuation projects. His area of specialization is accounting and finance, and he has published several research papers in the top accounting and finance journals. His current research interests include accounting conservatism, business valuation, earnings management, and industrial organization. In addition, he works in the areas of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (and the role of accounting and finance in these two areas) and corporate strategy. His other interests include curriculum development for management education, leadership in business schools, academic mentoring, as well as the relationship between research output and academic quality. His teaching portfolio includes several courses in accounting, finance, corporate strategy, and allied areas. Dr. Natarajan has won numerous awards for his teaching and has been recognized for his service and mentoring roles.

, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Management Sciences at the Warsaw University of Business, Warsaw, Poland. He has more than 15 years of teaching and administrative experience in academia. He has taught for six years at different Polish universities and has represented the University of Warsaw at Harvard University, USA. Dr. Kamran is well equipped with both quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis techniques. He earned his PhD in Management and Quality Sciences from the Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw, Poland.