Humancentric Economy 5.0 as a Proposal for a New Concept in Economic Sciences
Purpose: This article attempts to systematize the terminology associated with Economy 5.0 (E5.0), Society 5.0 (S5.0) and Industry 5.0 (I5.0), and presents a proposal for a new concept with a formulated definition in economic sciences, which the authors called Humancentric Economy 5.0. Design/Methodology/Approach: Economy 5.0 represents an extension of the paradigms of Society 5.0 and Industry 5.0. Therefore, within the framework of Economy 5.0, it is crucial to adopt a holistic and contextual approach to social and economic phenomena, taking into account both existing correlations (co-occurrences) and causations (cause-and-effect relationships), as well as the broader contextual conditions in which they occur. The unifying element of E5.0, S5.0, and I5.0 remains the human being and their unique attributes, such as feelings and emotions, as well as skills and capabilities, among which empathy merits particular attention, as it underpins human agency and provides an advantage over technology and its attributes, including progress, innovation, and advanced solutions such as artificial intelligence. The study employed a critical literature review and bibliometric analysis. The research was based on an examination of scientific publications available in the Scopus database, conducted in July 2025, using the selected keywords: E5.0, S5.0, and I5.0. Subsequently, bibliometric analysis was applied to identify the most frequently occurring research themes and to examine their evolution within the specified domains (I5.0, S5.0, and E5.0). In order to extract human-related terms, contextual filtering was conducted using a dictionary developed by the authors. Findings: The completed bibliometric analysis identified 4099 articles on Industry 5.0, 1264 articles on Society 5.0 and 9 articles on Economy 5.0. in the timeframe from 2016 to July 3th 2025. The analysis revealed that, within the literature examined, the primary focus is on technology rather than on humanisation. Practical Implications: In the concept of the Humancentric Economy 5.0, the authors emphasize the role and position of humans in the modern economy, along with their unique attributes. Organizations aiming to remain competitive should focus on promoting lifelong learning and strengthening intellectual capital as a strategic resource. In the newly proposed humancentric approach, human capital is treated as a primary actor. Accordingly, the human being occupies the central position within intellectual capital, which forms the core of management systems. Originality/Value: Systematization of knowledge in the areas of Economy 5.0, Society 5.0, and Industry 5.0, as well as the development of an original definition of a Humancentric Economy 5.0. Furthermore, a network of connections was established: human–technology–competences–organization–data, which resulted in an analysis of the associations between the human as the central entity of a human-centred economy and other attributes.