Bridging Human-Centered Design and Digital Innovation in Agri-Food Supply Chain: A Bibliometric and Thematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47672/ajscm.2792Abstract
Purpose: This review explores the integration of human-centered design (HCD) and digital innovation within the agri-food supply chain (AFSC). It aims to clarify how technologies such as blockchain, AI, and the combination of Supply Chain 5.0 contribute to fostering a human-centric, sustainable, and adaptive AFSC.
Materials and Methods: A two-step bibliometric and thematic synthesis was applied. Drawing on over 600 articles retrieved from the Dimensions database and analyzed using Vosviewer, this map visualizes and illustrates keyword co-occurrence trends between 2013 and 2025. 31 articles were then selected based on their relevance to the study’s propositions.
Findings: The review finds that while digital tools are crucial in addressing issues in agri-food systems and climate challenges, their success is dependent on how they effectively work with local capabilities, user-centered values, and within cultural contexts. The review identifies three major thematic domains: enabling digital technologies for HCD evolution, ethical and accessible-driven technological transformation, and bridging the operational gap in HCD within AFSC innovation.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The approach and application in this study present a novel perspective within the human-centered scope of the agri-food supply chain, suggesting a transition from technology-led innovation to socially responsive and regenerative practices.
Downloads
References
Adel, A., 2022. Future of industry 5.0 in society: human-centric solutions, challenges and prospective research areas. Journal of Cloud Computing, 11(1), p.40.
Ahmad, A., Liew, A.X., Venturini, F., Kalogeras, A., Candiani, A., Di Benedetto, G., Ajibola, S., Cartujo, P., Romero, P., Lykoudi, A. and De Grandis, M.M., 2024. AI can empower agriculture for global food security: challenges and prospects in developing nations. Frontiers in artificial intelligence, 7, p.1328530.
Ahmed, N. and Shakoor, N., 2025. Advancing agriculture through IoT, Big Data, and AI: a review of smart technologies enabling sustainability. Smart Agricultural Technology, p.100848.
Apeh, O.O. and Nwulu, N.I., 2025. Improving traceability and sustainability in the agri-food industry through blockchain technology: A bibliometric approach, benefits and challenges. Energy Nexus, 17, p.100388.
Aria, M. and Cuccurullo, C., 2017. bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. Journal of informetrics, 11(4), pp.959-975.
Arif, J., Samadhiya, A., Naz, F. and Kumar, A., 2024. Exploring the application of ICTs in decarbonizing the agriculture supply chain: A literature review and research agenda. Heliyon, 10(8).
Benatiya Andaloussi, M., 2024. A bibliometric literature review of digital supply chain: Trends, insights, and future directions. Sage Open, 14(2), p.21582440241240340.
Bostrom, R., & Heinen, J. (1976). MIS problems and failures: A Socio-technical Perspective.
Brennan, C.S., 2024. Regenerative food innovation: the role of agro-food chain by-products and plant origin food to obtain high-value-added foods. Foods, 13(3), p.427.
Charles, V., Emrouznejad, A. and Gherman, T., 2023. A critical analysis of the integration of blockchain and artificial intelligence for supply chain. Annals of Operations Research, 327(1), pp.7-47.
Costa, F., Frecassetti, S., Rossini, M. and Portioli-Staudacher, A., 2023. Industry 4.0 digital technologies enhancing sustainability: Applications and barriers from the agricultural industry in an emerging economy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 408, p.137208.
D’Angelo, V. and Belvedere, V., 2023. Green supply chains and digital supply chains: Identifying overlapping areas. Sustainability, 15(12), p.9828.
Das, S., Barve, A., Sahu, N.C. and Muduli, K., 2023. Enabling artificial intelligence for sustainable food grain supply chains: an agri 5.0 and circular economy perspective. Operations Management Research, 16(4), pp.2104-2124.
de Carvalho, M.I., Relvas, S. and Barbosa-Póvoa, A.P., 2022. A roadmap for sustainability performance assessment in the context of Agri-Food Supply Chain. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 34, pp.565-585.
Dibbern, T., Romani, L.A.S. and Massruhá, S.M.F.S., 2024. Main drivers and barriers to the adoption of Digital Agriculture technologies. Smart Agricultural Technology, 8, p.100459.
Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N. and Lim, W.M., 2021. How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of business research, 133, pp.285-296.
Fattahi, M. and Govindan, K., 2022. Data‐driven rolling horizon approach for dynamic design of supply chain distribution networks under disruption and demand uncertainty. Decision Sciences, 53(1), pp.150-180.
Fraga-Lamas, P., Fernández-Caramés, T.M., da Cruz, A.M.R. and Lopes, S.I., 2024. An overview of blockchain for Industry 5.0: towards human-centric, sustainable and resilient applications. IEEE Access.
Garrido, S., Muniz Jr, J. and Ribeiro, V.B., 2024. Operations management, sustainability & industry 5.0: A critical analysis and future agenda. Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain, 10, p.100141.
Ghobakhloo, M., Iranmanesh, M., Morales, M.E., Nilashi, M. and Amran, A., 2023. Actions and approaches for enabling Industry 5.0‐driven sustainable industrial transformation: A strategy roadmap. Corporate social responsibility and environmental management, 30(3), pp.1473-1494.
Haloui, D., Oufaska, K., Oudani, M. and El Yassini, K., 2024. Bridging industry 5.0 and agriculture 5.0: Historical perspectives, opportunities, and future perspectives. Sustainability, 16(9), p.3507.
Hassoun, A., Aït-Kaddour, A., Abu-Mahfouz, A.M., Rathod, N.B., Bader, F., Barba, F.J., Biancolillo, A., Cropotova, J., Galanakis, C.M., Jambrak, A.R. and Lorenzo, J.M., 2023. The fourth industrial revolution in the food industry Part I: Industry 4.0 technologies. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 63(23), pp.6547-6563.
Hassoun, A., Jagtap, S., Trollman, H., Garcia‐Garcia, G., Duong, L.N., Saxena, P., Bouzembrak, Y., Treiblmaier, H., Para‐López, C., Carmona‐Torres, C. and Dev, K., 2024. From Food Industry 4.0 to Food Industry 5.0: Identifying technological enablers and potential future applications in the food sector. Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety, 23(6), p.e370040.
Holzinger, A., Fister, I., Kaul, H.P. and Asseng, S., 2024. Human-centered AI in smart farming: Toward agriculture 5.0. IEEe Access, 12, pp.62199-62214.
Kazancoglu, I., Ozbiltekin-Pala, M., Mangla, S.K., Kumar, A. and Kazancoglu, Y., 2023. Using emerging technologies to improve the sustainability and resilience of supply chains in a fuzzy environment in the context of COVID-19. Annals of Operations Research, 322(1), pp.217-240.
Khan, S., Kaushik, M.K., Kumar, R. and Khan, W., 2023. Investigating the barriers of blockchain technology integrated food supply chain: a BWM approach. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 30(3), pp.713-735.
Krippendorff, K. (2005). The semantic turn: A new foundation for design. crc Press.
Lam, W.S., Lam, W.H. and Lee, P.F., 2023. A bibliometric analysis of digital twin in the supply chain. Mathematics, 11(15), p.3350.
Liu, S., Li, P., Wang, J. and Liu, P., 2024. Toward industry 5.0: Challenges and enablers of intelligent manufacturing technology implementation under the perspective of sustainability. Heliyon, 10(15).
Mahroof, K., Omar, A., Vann Yaroson, E., Tenebe, S.A., Rana, N.P., Sivarajah, U. and Weerakkody, V., 2024. Evaluating the intention to use Industry 5.0 (I5. 0) drones for cleaner production in Sustainable Food Supply Chains: an emerging economy context. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 29(3), pp.468-496.
Malacina, I. and Teplov, R., 2022. Supply chain innovation research: A bibliometric network analysis and literature review. International Journal of Production Economics, 251, p.108540.
Mansilla-Obando, K., Llanos, G., Gómez-Sotta, E., Buchuk, P., Ortiz, F., Aguirre, M. and Ahumada, F., 2023. Eco-innovation in the food industry: exploring consumer motivations in an emerging market. Foods, 13(1), p.4.
Mondejar, M.E., Avtar, R., Diaz, H.L.B., Dubey, R.K., Esteban, J., Gómez-Morales, A., Hallam, B., Mbungu, N.T., Okolo, C.C., Prasad, K.A. and She, Q., 2021. Digitalization to achieve sustainable development goals: Steps towards a Smart Green Planet. Science of The Total Environment, 794, p.148539.
Norman, D. A., & Draper, S. W. (1986). User centered system design; new perspectives on human-computer interaction. L. Erlbaum Associates Inc...
Pagell, M. and Wilhelm, M., 2025. Putting the S in sustainable supply chain management: A people‐centric research agenda. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 61(1), pp.83-95.
Pandey, A.K., Daultani, Y. and Pratap, S., 2024. Blockchain technology enabled critical success factors for supply chain resilience and sustainability. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(2), pp.1533-1554.
Panigrahi, R.R., Singh, N. and Muduli, K., 2025. Digital technologies and food supply chain: a scoping view from 2010 to 2024. International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 7(2), pp.150-174.
Paul, J., Lim, W.M., O’Cass, A., Hao, A.W. and Bresciani, S., 2021. Scientific procedures and rationales for systematic literature reviews (SPAR‐4‐SLR). International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45(4), pp.O1-O16.
Pietrantoni, L., Favilla, M., Fraboni, F., Mazzoni, E., Morandini, S., Benvenuti, M. and De Angelis, M., 2024. Integrating collaborative robots in manufacturing, logistics, and agriculture: Expert perspectives on technical, safety, and human factors. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 11, p.1342130.
Rejeb, A., Rejeb, K., Zrelli, I. and Süle, E., 2025. Industry 5.0 as seen through its academic literature: an investigation using co-word analysis. Discover Sustainability, 6(1), p.307.
Rogers, H. and Dora, M., 2024. Guest editorial: The interplay between new innovations, sustainability and food supply chains. Supply Chain Management: an International Journal, 29(3), pp.409-413.
Samuels, A., 2025. Examining the integration of artificial intelligence in supply chain management from Industry 4.0 to 6.0: a systematic literature review. Frontiers in artificial intelligence, 7, p.1477044.
Silva, M.E., Fritz, M.M., Seuring, S. and Matos, S., 2023. Guest editorial: The social sustainability of global supply chains–a critical perspective on current practices and its transformative potential. International journal of physical distribution & logistics management, 53(1), pp.1-12.
Singh, D. and Cohen, V., 2025. Socio-economic dimensions and human centricity in Industry 5.0: a study on manufacturing sectors in central and Eastern European economies. Journal of Economic Studies, 52(2), pp.254-275.
Singh, K.A., Patra, F., Ghosh, T., Mahnot, N.K., Dutta, H. and Duary, R.K., 2025. Advancing food systems with industry 5.0: A systematic review of smart technologies, sustainability, and resource optimization. Sustainable Futures, p.100694.
Tombe, R. and Smuts, H., 2023. Agricultural social networks: An agricultural value chain-based digitalization framework for an inclusive digital economy. Applied Sciences, 13(11), p.6382.
Trabelsi, M., Casprini, E., Fiorini, N. and Zanni, L., 2023. Unleashing the value of artificial intelligence in the agri-food sector: where are we? British Food Journal, 125(13), pp.482-515.
Trist, E. L., & Bamforth, K. W. (2000). Some social and psychological consequences of the longwall method of coal-getting¹. Technology, Organizations and Innovation: The early debates, 1, 79.
Van Eck, N. and Waltman, L., 2010. Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. scientometrics, 84(2), pp.523-538.
Vasanthraj, V., Potdar, V., Agrawal, H., & Kaur, A. (2025). Transforming milk supply chains with blockchain: Enhancing visibility and cost reduction. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 32(5), 1686-1719.
Velasco-Muñoz, J.F., Aznar-Sánchez, J.A., López-Felices, B. and Román-Sánchez, I.M., 2022. Circular economy in agriculture. An analysis of the state of research based on the life cycle. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 34, pp.257-270.
Verma, S. and Gustafsson, A., 2020. Investigating the emerging COVID-19 research trends in the field of business and management: A bibliometric analysis approach. Journal of business research, 118, pp.253-261.
Villar, A., Paladini, S. and Buckley, O., 2023, July. Towards supply chain 5.0: redesigning supply chains as resilient, sustainable, and human-centric systems in a post-pandemic world. In Operations Research Forum (Vol. 4, No. 3, p. 60). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Yadav, M., Agarwal, U., Rishiwal, V., Tanwar, S., Kumar, S., Alqahtani, F. and Tolba, A., 2023. Exploring synergy of blockchain and 6G network for industrial automation. IEEE access, 11, pp.137163-137187.
Yadav, N., Luthra, S. and Garg, D., 2023. Blockchain technology for sustainable supply chains: a network cluster analysis and future research propositions. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(24), pp.64779-64799.
Yadav, S., Samadhiya, A., Kumar, A., Luthra, S., Kumar, V., Garza-Reyes, J.A. and Upadhyay, A., 2024. The interplay effects of digital technologies, green integration, and green innovation on food supply chain sustainable performance: An organizational information processing theory perspective. Technology in Society, 77, p.102585.
Yap, C.K. and Al-Mutairi, K.A., 2024. A conceptual model relationship between Industry 4.0—Food-agriculture nexus and agroecosystem: A literature review and knowledge gaps. Foods, 13(1), p.150.
Yaqub, M.Z. and Alsabban, A., 2023. Industry-4.0-enabled digital transformation: Prospects, instruments, challenges, and implications for business strategies. Sustainability, 15(11), p.8553.
Zekhnini, K., Chaouni Benabdellah, A., Bag, S. and Gupta, S., 2024. Supply chain 5.0 digitalization: an integrated approach for risk assessment. Management Decision.
Zhao, G., Xie, X., Wang, Y., Liu, S., Jones, P. and Lopez, C., 2024. Barrier analysis to improve big data analytics capability of the maritime industry: A mixed-method approach. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 203, p.123345.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Peace Aludogbu, Rebecca Scott
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
