Canadian Academy Discover, Publish, Thrive
Additive manufacturing has recently gained attention in international business due to its disruptive potential. This paper explores its challenges and opportunities, offering a broader perspective on global value chains and internalization theory. Using thematic and content analysis of academic and professional sources, the study aims to bridge the gap between industry and academia. It highlights the benefits of additive manufacturing, such as a shortened value chain, improved customer relationships through customization, and sustainable production. However, it also discusses challenges that may hinder its adoption in international business.
Additive manufacturing (AM) is revolutionizing industries by enabling 3D printing of physical objects. Defined by ASTM International as a process of joining materials layer by layer from 3D model data, AM contrasts traditional subtractive methods. Originally for prototyping, AM now sees broad use in sectors like aviation and healthcare. Advancements in AI and supply chain digitization have made intelligent production systems a key competitive factor, with extensive research focusing on areas like mass customization and operational flexibility. AM’s potential to shift production from global to localized models is significant, yet its impact on international business remains underexplored.
Current literature has only recently started examining the intersection of AM and international business, highlighting opportunities and challenges in global operations. While most studies have focused on technical aspects of AM, there’s a need for research on its implications for global value chains and international competition. This manuscript aims to bridge this gap by combining insights from academia and industry to better understand AM’s role in international business. Through thematic and content analysis of scientific and professional sources, the study highlights AM’s disruptive potential, including product specialization and reduced training needs. The research calls for collaboration between academia, industry, and government to advance understanding and adoption of AM in global value chains.
As technology advances disrupt the competitive landscape, they enable ventures to operate globally. While digital transformation’s domestic strategic implications are well-studied, its impact on global strategies remains under-researched (Efrat and Asseraf, 2019). International business scholars debate convergence and divergence in global operations (Ozturk and Cavusgil, 2019), highlighting the need for more research on de-globalization’s practical and theoretical implications (Witt, 2019). Modern research must rethink global strategy theories considering digital transformation (Petricevic and Teece, 2019). Over the past two decades, literature on digital transformation and international business has evolved, initially focusing on the Internet and ICT, and now on Industry 4.0 and disruptive technologies, exploring their role in creating new international entrepreneurial opportunities.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology presents significant opportunities and challenges for global entrepreneurial ventures. Unlike advanced technologies typically limited to developed countries, AM can be utilized anywhere, including remote areas like the Sahara and rural Nepal. This capability supports “de-globalization,” promoting localized production tailored to local needs. This shift allows for mass customization, contrasting with traditional mass production methods. However, the impact of AM varies by industry, necessitating comprehensive research into its industrial and business implications. While AM and international business have independently progressed rapidly, there is a lack of integrated research connecting the two. Scholars like Hannibal and Knight (2018) highlight the need for systematic study to bridge the gap between professional practice and academic research, as noted by Caviggioli and Ughetto (2019). An integrated research approach could offer valuable empirical data and practical insights for future developments.
Numerous studies emphasize the need for enhanced industry-academia collaboration. Fasogbon and Adebo (2022) highlight a tripartite effort involving government, higher education institutions, and the private sector to support AM initiatives. They argue that increased government funding for educational institutions will enable quality research on AM, benefiting the private sector. Gammeltoft and Cuervo-Cazurra (2021) stress the importance of further research on AM’s challenges in international business, urging comprehensive studies from both practitioners’ and academics’ perspectives. Practitioners often struggle to connect with scientific research due to differing approaches, particularly in AM literature. To bridge this gap, Romme et al. (2015) suggest fostering dialogue between scholars and professionals. This study aims to explore the challenges and opportunities of AM in international business and its implications for global strategy.
We chose thematic analysis and conventional content analysis (CA) to address our research question, as CA is a widely used qualitative method enabling detailed topic exploration (Ford and Despeisse, 2016). Computer-assisted data analysis has modernized CA, allowing researchers to handle large datasets transparently and replicably. CA’s popularity in social science, especially international business, is well-documented (Elsahn and Earl, 2022; Zahoor et al., 2022). Our study uses conventional CA, deriving coding categories directly from the data due to the exploratory nature and novelty of our research field (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005). This study involves a two-step CA of textual data from academic and scientific sources (Ben-Ner and Siemsen, 2017), creating separate datasets for practitioners’ and academics’ data, inspired by calls for integrating insights from both sectors (Ahi et al., 2022; Bouncken and Barwinski, 2021; Massaro et al., 2021).
After depicting the perspectives of academia and practice, we synthesize the main insights in Table 3 and delve deeper into both perspectives. For decades, internalization theory has examined the integrated multi-location configuration of international businesses. However, a shift towards decentralization has occurred, leading to more spatially separated value chains. The rise of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology may further de-globalize manufacturing by enabling production to relocate to local sites. Practitioners see AM as offering competitive advantages, enhancing supply chain resiliency, and lowering environmental impact. Academics note that AM firms often establish foreign subsidiaries, indicating its impact on global value chains and company internationalization.
AM’s potential to reduce offshoring and reshape value chains suggests a need to rethink internalization and global value chain concepts. Future studies could explore industry heterogeneity in AM adoption, compare micro-multinational and larger companies, and examine cross-cultural impacts on AM adoption. AM technology enhances customer interaction, enabling mass customization and requiring companies to rethink global value chain strategies. Companies like Burloak Technologies use AM for collaborative customer interactions and prototype development, highlighting a shift towards a new approach in international partnerships.
Both academia and industry are interested in AM’s sustainability potential, noting how it can reduce waste and environmental impact through localized production. Research on AM’s sustainability impact is still developing, with a need for further exploration of drivers and barriers to sustainable AM adoption.
Bridging the gap between academia and industry is crucial for AM development. Collaborative efforts could address challenges related to intellectual property rights and local policies, with academia contributing to economic development and industry fostering academic research. However, the digital landscape of AM poses difficulties for scholars in gathering new insights. Despite these challenges, there is a convergence of interests between academia and industry on sustainability and customer relationship management, suggesting potential for future collaboration and mutual benefits.
Our study addresses the call for research on the advantages and challenges of Additive Manufacturing (AM) in international business. We show that while research on AM and international business has traditionally developed separately, their convergence offers significant potential for both academia and industry. Our findings highlight AM’s disruptive potential in product specialization, production dispersion to developing countries, and reduced need for specialized training. However, challenges such as financial and cultural barriers, structural changes to global value chains, and intellectual property risks remain. We also discuss AM’s impact on de-globalization, suggesting that it may lead to more localized production and new forms of global value chain integration. By examining the perspectives of professionals and scholars through internalization and global value chain theories, our research aims to bridge the gap between these groups and lay the groundwork for future developments in AM and international business.
Source: