The Change in the Competitiveness Paradigm as a Result of the Transformation of its Value Chain Determined by the Industrial Revolution 4.0

The current technical and technological development of human civilization is referred to as Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0). This is a consequence of the changes that have occurred in the ways of producing goods and providing services over the centuries. When referred to an enterprise, it can be defined as the concept of smart and digital creation of its value chain. In the article based on the concept of M.E. Porter, an analysis has been made of the changes that are taking place and may take place and on their impact on the competitiveness of the company as the result of the application of inventions such as the Internet of things, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, block chain, cyber-physical systems, 3D printing, autonomous vehicles, augmented reality, digital twin and nanotechnology. The article is of the theoretical and conceptual nature and is based on the desk research method. The result of the research has been the formulation of a new competitiveness paradigm, which, in contrast to the traditional one, assumes the possibility of simultaneous implementation of three strategies, i.e. low costs, high quality and market niche. Companies capable of implementing the strategies may gain a significant competitive advantage.