Business models dynamics and business ecosystems in the emerging 3D printing industry

This paper explores the relationships that exist between business models and ecosystems evolving in the 3D printing industry using qualitative evidence drawn from three countries: China, UK and USA. In particular, this research proposes that it is important to understand the process of business mode...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTechnological forecasting & social change Vol. 134; pp. 234 - 245
Main Authors Rong, Ke, Patton, Dean, Chen, Weiwei
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Elsevier Inc 01.09.2018
Elsevier Science Ltd
Subjects
3-D printers
3D printing
Alliances
Business
Business ecosystems
Business model dynamics
Business models
Capabilities
Correlation analysis
Environment models
Platform
Policy analysis
Printing industry
Strategic planning
Studies
Three dimensional models
Three dimensional printing
United Kingdom > UK
United States > US
China
Business model dynamics
Business ecosystems
Platform
Capabilities
3D printing
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Summary:This paper explores the relationships that exist between business models and ecosystems evolving in the 3D printing industry using qualitative evidence drawn from three countries: China, UK and USA. In particular, this research proposes that it is important to understand the process of business model dynamics and formulation and how the associated ecosystem evolves alongside this process to support its development. In studying the dynamics of business models in the 3D printing sector, this research identifies a three-stage process, ‘initiation’, ‘execution’ and ‘extension’, and suggests three capabilities that enable the development of the model, namely, ‘scalability’, ‘flexibility’ and ‘extensibility’. In addition, it is suggested that the structure of the business ecosystem (product based, platform based, or some combination) influences the potential impact that these capabilities can have on business model development. These findings have implications for those organisations seeking to develop business models and ecosystems around emerging technologies, for practitioners involved in the development and extension of business models, and for academics seeking to evaluate policy and practice within this field. •There are five key stakeholders (namely 5Ms) in 3D printing ecosystems.•Three patterns of business models: product-based, platform-based & combined•Business ecosystems support business models' development•business model dynamics contains three stages: initiation, execution, extension
ISSN:0040-1625
1873-5509
DOI:10.1016/j.techfore.2018.06.015