The role of 3D printing and open design on adoption of socially sustainable supply chain innovation

Beltagui, Ahmad; Kunz, Nathan Michael; Gold, Stefan (2020). The role of 3D printing and open design on adoption of socially sustainable supply chain innovation International Journal of Production Economics, 221, p. 107462. Elsevier 10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.07.035

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Social sustainability is a growing concern for supply chain management, but questionable practices endure due to insufficient stakeholder pressure on the market leading firms. Meanwhile small, socially oriented firms may have the will but lack the means to change dominant practices when entering a market. In this context 3D printing may offer a solution, by leveraging the voluntary effort of individuals through open design and distributed production. A system dynamics approach is applied to the case of a socially oriented mobile phone producer, whose fair supply chain practices may initially appeal only to a niche market. We examine how open design of 3D printed mobile phone accessories helps overcome size-related resource constraints, facilitate market growth and ultimately generate sufficient consumer demand to alter the market leaders’ supply chain practices, in favour of social sustainability. Our findings demonstrate the interaction between availability of 3D printers, consumer attitudes to social sustainability and the market entry. We discuss the implications for technology management, namely that 3D printing can help overcome resource constraints to support the diffusion of socially sustainable supply chain innovation.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Business School > Institute for Sustainable Business Business School
Name:	Beltagui, Ahmad; Kunz, Nathan Michael and Gold, Stefan
ISSN:	0925-5273
Publisher:	Elsevier
Language:	English
Submitter:	Nathan Michael Kunz
Date Deposited:	02 Aug 2023 10:08
Last Modified:	10 Oct 2023 08:45
Publisher DOI:	10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.07.035
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Additive manufacturing 3D printing Open source innovation Social sustainability Open design System dynamics
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.19624
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/19624