Differentiation of Industry 4.0 Models. The 4th Industrial Revolution from different Regional Perspectives in the Global North and Global South.

This paper addresses the regionally different approaches or strategies in selected countries from the Global North as well as the Global South in discussing the Fourth (4th) Industrial Revolution (4IR) and its representation in manufacturing, Industry 4.0 (I4.0). The 4IR marks a digitally-enabled and technologically driven paradigmatic change that will not only disrupt industries and the economic system, but will have its effects on the society and environment as a whole. As technological, economic and societal innovations and transformations are closely linked with one another, the 4IR will bring opportunities and challenges that require country-specific adaptation and mitigation strategies that address both, a country’s strengths and weaknesses. The core premise of this comparative analysis is the existence of a basic difference in the motivation between on the one hand the frontrunner countries in the Global North that so far coin the global 4IR/ I4.0 discourse and on the other hand the countries in the Global South that aim to utilize this transformation processes to catch up in the global competition. The selected countries and their strategic approaches towards the 4IR represent fully industrialized (Germany’s Industrie 4.0, Japan’s Society 5.0, and USA’s Industrial Internet of Things) and emerging industrial economies (China’s Made-in-China 2025, Indonesia’s Making Indonesia 4.0, and Mexico’s Crafting the Future).