The Fourth Industrial Revolution in the Croatian Context: Science Fiction or a New Developmental Paradigm?

The article examines prospects of directing the development of Croatian society towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0. Relations among overlapping relevant concepts are clarified in the first section. The following analysis comprises results of the qualitative study based on 12 semi-structured interviews with representatives of the entrepreneurial sector, state officials and scientists closely connected with the development and application of AI and robots. The findings suggest that respondents advocate for fostering Industry 4.0 by recognising its potential, but also identify obstacles regarding its implementation. It is concluded that Industry 4.0 is most likely to emerge as a "localised" process, as: 1) the smart specialisation of specific technologically most advanced products; 2) a primarily regional phenomenon that will appear in the north-west counties.