THE TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSITION OF EUROPEAN MANUFACTURING COMPANIES TO INDUSTRY 4.0. IS THE HUMAN RESOURCE READY FOR ADVANCED DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES? THE CASE OF ROMANIA

Expansion of digitalization creates the opportunity to transform production technologies and enables technological integration of the supply chain, according to the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). These technologies aim at creating smart manufacturing, where the production system is capable of automatically reconfiguring itself, based on the integration of hardware, software, and connectivity technologies. The technological transition process is influenced not only by certain digital prerequisites, but also by the ability of the human resource to acquire new digital skills. The study aims to estimate patterns both for the adoption of new technologies in European manufacturing companies, and for the human resource readiness for new technological challenges. Following the principal component analysis method, we estimated a further widening of development gaps between leading and laggard countries (including Romania) in technology. The less developed countries have the chance to skip certain stages of the transition towards Industry 4.0, as a result of promoting smart policies to harness their potential for digitalization.