Understanding Future Leaders: How Are Personal Values of Generations Y and Z Tailored to Leadership in Industry 4.0?

This study combines two main challenges for organizations today, as it examines the alignment between personal values of future leaders and the values needed in the Industry 4.0 workplace. Based on the movement of the organizational environment toward a more multidisciplinary, open, collaborative and multicultural environment, we presuppose that the Industry 4.0 workplace requires a more benevolent, universally oriented and generally self-transcended leaders. Drawing upon Schwartz’s value theory, we examine the impact of Generations Y and Z’s personal values on their leadership inclination. The results from the survey of 371 young participants from Generations Y and Z reveal that self-enhancement (i.e., power and achievement), openness to change and conservation values most significantly affect leadership inclination. Meanwhile, benevolence, universalism and general self-transcendence values—cornerstones of the Industry 4.0 workplace—show negative effects on leadership inclination in the frame of the Industry 4.0 workplace. This indicates a poor fit between the values of future leaders and the values of the Industry 4.0 workplace. These findings have significant implications for human resource management in future organizations and contribute to the understanding of future leaders. In addition, the findings can help organizations to manage sustainable workings in an Industry 4.0 environment.