Business models for disruptive technologies: findings from the 3D pri...

3D printing is a vibrant research topic in technical sciences and medicine. However, in entrepreneurship as well as innovation research the topic is nascent at best, despite the fact that the technology has high potential to be disruptive.
The aim of our study is to analyze currently used business models in the emerging 3D printing industry through publicly available secondary data. The data gathered from 290 firms is analyzed to identify already existing business model patterns. Thus current archetypes of business models in the 3D printing industry can be defined. Based on this analysis it can be concluded whether or not a dominant industry logic is already established or has yet to evolve. Identified firms are located in Northern America and Europe. The two continents were chosen because they are strong drivers of the 3D printing industry's evolution and are among the fastest evolving 3D printing markets.