Assessing the effect of 3D printing technologies on entrepreneurship: An exploratory study

The aim of this paper is to critically assess the effect of 3D printing technologies on entrepreneurship. While 3D printing technologies (also known as 'additive manufacturing') have been considered as highly transformative technologies, they have been so far (despite over 30 years of existence) restricted to niche markets, and until recently, it seemed that only the largest firms were able to take advantage of those technologies. However, the cost of use of such technologies has sharply decreased over the past few years, and an increasing number of service companies offer both offline (Fab Labs, makerspaces, bureaus) and online (3D printing platforms) access to 3D printing capacities, enabling to bridge the gap and provide access to 3D printing technologies to everyone. In this context, using a case-based exploratory methodology, this research aims to explore the benefits of 3D printing technologies for entrepreneurs and new ventures, in particular in relation to overcoming specific challenges these smaller and younger structures face. After identifying the key types of hurdle faced by entrepreneurs - NPD issues, technical issues, market issues, financial issues, and business model issues - this article investigates the manner in which different forms of usage of 3D printing technologies - prototyping, tooling, direct manufacturing, distributed and localised manufacturing - can help alleviate each of those types of barrier. The results of this research indicate that 3D printing technologies are indeed likely to enable entrepreneurs to overcome the five main types of barriers they generally face. Furthermore, because of the very particular situation of entrepreneurs and new ventures and the specific challenges they face in terms of scale, access to markets, and lack of financial resources, 3D printing may in fact be more transformative for smaller and younger structures, than for larger and well-established corporations. However, this research also indicates that benefits for entrepreneurs derived from the use of 3D printing may depend on the degree of involvement of 3D printing in the overall productive process - the more the merrier - and that using 3D printing only at design and tooling stage, although helpful to some extent, may not be so impactful.

Automated summary

This research critically assesses the impact of 3D printing technologies on entrepreneurship, highlighting the potential for entrepreneurs to overcome various barriers with the help of these technologies.