The effects of globalization and the increasing dynamism of the modern business environment have largely determined the development of new production processes and directions of economic activities of countries and SME’s, which are the key drivers of those activities. Throughout the modern process of dynamics of economic activities, the emphasis of modern strategies and developmental directions is placed on investing in R&D as well as on recent trends that guide the development of modern economies and determine their position globally. The aim of this research is to present the basic theoretical aspects regarding modern factors of economic growth and competitiveness. Apart from presenting previous research that identifies the importance of R&D investment in the process of achieving economic growth and competitiveness, the research in this paper focuses on achieving competitiveness and its basic principles, which arise as a direct consequence of investing in modern sources of economic growth. Furthermore, this orientation results in the achievement of convergence, i.e. catching-up with development differences in countries / regions with similar characteristics. While considering this topic, special emphasis was placed on related processes that largely determine the trends and dynamics of economic activity in individual countries, whereby deindustrialization and implementation of the Industry 4.0 is strongly accentuated. The authors found that the realization and countries’ success in the context of new challenges largely depends on the historical heritage and the willingness of economic and political actors in the implementation of quality and comprehensive structural reforms.