Sustainable Value Roadmapping Framework for Additive Manufacturing

This is the final version of the article. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.24th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering, 8-10 May 2017, Kamakura, JapanRecent developments around the use of additive manufacturing (AM) for making components and end-products is radically changing the way manufacturing activities are organized. Many researchers are now turning their attention to AM technology and its potential benefits for boosting economic, social, and environmental sustainability. However, there is still much uncertainty on the full impact from a life cycle perspective. Previous work has reviewed the implications of AM from a sustainability and life cycle point of view, but it is unclear whether the technology can fully realize the potential benefits identified, and whether it will lead to unintended consequences such as increased material consumption, thereby further straining the planet's carrying capacity and pushing society towards unsustainable, more materialistic values. This research builds on previous work to customize a tool, the Sustainable Value Roadmapping Tool (SVRT), which combines the strategic roadmapping technique with the sustainable value analysis tool. Roadmapping is a well-established approach for businesses to strategically plan activities for the short-, medium- and long-term; combined with the value analysis tools, it can identify opportunities for sustainable value creation for all stakeholders, including society and the planet. While SVRT has been developed and tested in a more generic context (i.e. not technology-specific), it also has good promises to help companies to explore the potential benefits and challenges of AM adoption across products’ life cycle and the associated business model implications. This paper will present the prototype version of SVRT for AM. The findings consolidate and expand the opportunities and challenges already identified in the literature. Further work will conduct case studies to use the SVRT with companies adopting AM technology and better understand the sustainability impacts from a business perspective.This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/K039598/1] and the STIM consortium

Customer entrepreneurship on digital platforms: Challenges and solutions for platform business models

Drawing on the mixed methods of qualitative research and agent-based simulation, this study examines (a) how end-users use digital platforms to become customer–entrepreneurs undertaking commercial activities on platforms, and (b) how platform providers can convert this customer entrepreneurship into a revenue stream. Considering that end-users have traditionally been defined as passive and uncharged actors in platform business models, an in-depth understanding of their commercial activities and the viable revenue model to monetize this emerging customer practice is warranted. Our qualitative study reveals that customer–entrepreneurs make substantial use of platform offerings to advertise their products; communicate with end-consumers; and accept payments. These commercial activities are largely exercised for free on platforms, even though they could otherwise serve as a source of revenue. On this point, our simulation results identify two pricing models achieving the generation of nearly identical revenues over time. First, platform providers may charge both advertising and transaction fees, which maximize the survival of professional customer–entrepreneurs. Second, platform businesses may levy advertising fees only, which maximizes the survival of informal customer–entrepreneurs operating on a micro-scale and part-time basis. This study offers theoretical, methodological and managerial implications for platform studies