Different strokes for different folks: Comparative analysis of 3D printing in large, medium and small firms

Abstract

Industry 4.0 technologies such as 3D printing have radically transformed innovative outcomes for firms in terms of product design and offerings in the recent past. Acknowledging the impact, existing scholarship has delved into different dimensions of this technology and outcomes of its adoption, yet when compared with the scale of industrial activity globally and the varied possibilities associated with the adoption of this relatively new technology, the literature is woefully lean. Discussions and conversations on facilitators and inhibitors of adoption and continued usage are still nascent, particularly when one ponders upon specific insights related to sectors and firm size. The present study seeks to address this paucity by using the lens of firm size. Specifically, the study examines how firm size impacts various positive and negative outcomes of industry 4.0 innovation adoption and usage using 3D printing as an exemplar. Toward this end, we conducted a qualitative study to collect responses from 46 managers, 23 each from large-size and small-size enterprises operating in the United Kingdom. Thematic coding of responses revealed five aggregate dimensions representing facilitators and four aggregate dimensions representing inhibitors. Analysis of the findings revealed differences in outcomes with firm size, indicating that the adoption and optimal use of innovations such as 3D printing were indeed incumbent on firm size in the case of disruptive, technology-driven innovations that are generically presumed to have positive outcomes. Overall, the findings of this study provide new insights into various facilitators and inhibitors of the adoption of 3D printing technology, which can help firms to make better strategic decisions on the effective usage of this technology.