Building the layers of a new manufacturing taxonomy: How 3D printing is creating a new landscape of production eco-systems and competitive dynamics

• Published in: Technological forecasting & social change 2018-03, Vol.128, p.22-35
• Main Authors: Kapetaniou, Chrystalla, Rieple, Alison, Pilkington, Alan, Frandsen, Thomas, Pisano, Paola
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3-D printers; 3-D technology; 3D printing; Business competition; Classification; Competition; Competitive dynamics; Industrial taxonomies; Manufacturing; Production ecosystems; Studies; Taxonomy; Technological change; Technology; Three dimensional models; Three dimensional printing; Toolkits
• ISSN: 0040-1625; 1873-5509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2017.10.011

Recent innovations in 3D printing technologies and processes have influenced how products are designed, built and delivered. However, there is a significant gap in our knowledge of how 3D printing is impacting on manufacturing eco-systems within different industries and contexts. Drawing inspiration from earlier manufacturing taxonomies as well as the competitive dynamics literature which provides insights into industries' moves from straightforwardly rivalrous frameworks, through competitive-cooperative exemplars, into the more recent relational-based competition. Basing our analysis on a systematic review of organisations' use of 3D printing, we develop a new taxonomy explaining the many areas the technology can impact. In addition to offering a comprehensive framework to conceptualise the impact of 3D printing, we emphasise the role of users in co-creation and personalisation. While 3D printing has been touted as disruptive, we suggest that our new taxonomy offers a richer understanding of the ways firms can operate in a 3D printing context. We furthermore apply the relational competition category of the competitive dynamics model to our taxonomy, showing how 3D printing influences the modes and aims of competition, roster of actors and action toolkits within the different industry sectors. •The paper presents a systematic review of organisations' use of 3D technologies•3D printing innovation has changed how products are designed, built and delivered•A taxonomy is presented explaining 3D printing's impact on manufacturing ecosystems•3D printing is making industry boundaries disappear, altering competitive dynamics•3D printing sectors are characterized by different forms of relation-based competitive dynamics