DISCLOSURE OF THE EXPORT POTENTIAL OF HIGH-TECH ENTERPRISES IN THE CONTEXT OF INDUSTRY 4.0 THROUGH QUALITY MANAGEMENT

The motivation for this research was the desire to strengthen the scientific and methodological base to reduce the global digital divide. The purpose of the article is to develop a new approach to the disclosure of the export potential of high-tech enterprises. For this purpose, the article examines the dynamics of high-tech exports in 2007-2021 in a complete sample of countries for which the World Bank keeps statistical records, and substantiates a weak relationship of high-tech exports with economic growth, but a strong relationship with quality 4.0 using the method of correlation analysis. Based on data for 2021 from a sample of the top 20 digital economies that most actively use a set of technologies for quality management 4.0, it has been proved that industrial and manufacturing engineering 4.0 makes a greater contribution to the disclosure of the export potential of high-tech enterprises than digital management information systems. The theoretical significance lies in the fact that the scientific concept of neomercantilism 4.0 has been developed to explain the essence of international trade in the context of industry 4.0; the economic cycle of industry 4.0 has been proposed and its difference from the usual economic cycle has been substantiated to explain the dynamics of change and high-precision forecasting of high-tech exports. The practical significance is due to the fact that the developed new approach to the disclosure of the export potential of high-tech enterprises describes more objectively and makes it possible to predict the dynamics of changes in high-tech exports with greater accuracy, and also provides wider use of the advanced capabilities of industry 4.0 to modernize the development of high-tech industries and strengthen their global digital competitiveness.