Technologies, opportunities and challenges of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 : theoretical considerations

Objective: The aim of this article is to identify the impact of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) on the production processes of goods and services, their ground-breaking changes, and their potential economic, social, and political consequences. Research Design & Methods: The article was based on available literature and online sources. The discussion of the reviewed sources leads to the formulation of three research propositions. Findings: The technical progress that occurs in modern societies is divided into 4 phases called industrial revolutions. It is assumed that the current phase, i.e. the IR 4.0, began in 2000. It is characterized by the industrial implementation of breakthrough inventions such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, advanced robots, autonomous vehicles, cloud computing, big data, augmented/simulated reality, 3D printing, blockchain, nanomaterials, and digital twins. Implications & Recommendations: The sooner the inventions and technological phenomena of the fourth industrial revolution will be implemented by particular economies, the sooner the economic effects of this revolution will emerge in the global economy. Contribution & Value Added: The application of breakthrough inventions will cause revolutionary changes in the process of goods production and services, which are synthetically called an intelligent factory and an intelligent supply chain. In addition to the undoubted benefits of – primarily – technical, organizational, and economic nature, many believe that the IR 4.0 will bring threats in the form of rising unemployment, social stratification, threats to cyber security, violations of privacy, ethics, and social norms, a threat of wars based on new inventions and a growing division of the world into rich and poor countries.