The new concept of a future 4.0 factory was presented at the Hannover trade fair for the first time already in 2011. It promised a new way of production that will be flexible, effective and ready to mass produce individualized products with lower demand for a human labour force.

The economic convergence of V4 countries to the EU average (per capita GDP and by added value) is still an endeavour for many decades. During those future decades the economic and social environment will be strongly influenced by new technologies, including the Internet of Things, automatization and robotization, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, autonomous cars and drones, blockchain and various new ways of using the internet in everyday life and for economic transactions.

The opening research paper of the project Digital New Deal for V4 consists of four country reports with SWOT analyses identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic in regards to their transformation to Industry/Society 4.0.

This research paper was published within the framework of projects “Digital New Deal” supported the International Visegrad Fund and “Digital New Deal and Future of the Open Society in Central Europe” supported by the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. The project is implemented by AMO in cooperation with the Free Market Foundation (Hungary), Liberté! Foundation (Poland) and F. A. Hayek Foundation (Slovakia).i