Abstract
Purpose. COVID-19 has prompted more countries to consider moving key production activities back home. 3D printing (3DP) is a key technology to realize this migration. This study aims to explore the extent to which 3DP can change the current global production network. Design/Methodology/Approach. This study takes the toy industry as the empirical object and studies the trend of labor-intensive industries migrating from China to the United States from the micro- and macroperspectives. At the microlevel, this study uses scenario analysis to compare the utility experience of different toy acquisition channels for consumers. At the macrolevel, this study determines the applicable product objects of 3DP through the classification and analysis of toy trade data. Findings. It is found that, with the development of 3DP, toy manufacturing activities may gradually flow from China to the United States in stages. If 3DP is implemented in electronic materials and power systems, this migration activity will be more obvious. Originality/Value. This study identified which kind of 3DP technology development will significantly promote the global production network reconstruction. This viewpoint is helpful for decision-makers to consider technology investment comprehensively.
Highlights
How can 3D printing (3DP) reach its full potential? Can 3DP coexist with globalization or will it precipitate deglobalization? In this study, we investigated toy manufacturing, which is a labor-intensive industry
COVID-19 has led more countries to consider moving some of their key production activities back home
Will labor-intensive industries, which are most sensitive to production costs, migrate if 3DP is applied? Taking the toy industry as an empirical object, we examined the characteristics of disruptive innovation and carried out micro- and macroverification of our prediction
Summary
According to ingiverse, which is the largest open-source 3DP community in the world, taking medical supplies as an example, open-source designs such as 3D printed ventilator core spare parts and personal protective equipment have appeared in succession during this period. In addition to makers’ open-source solutions, manufacturers have opened up 3DP licenses for specific parts. All these contribute to the world’s fight against COVID-19 [2]. When everyone can print the desired products from their own location, the existing GPNs will be severely affected [7, 8]. Is this the end of globalization and the beginning of deglobalization?. Whether GPNs will be subverted to a greater extent needs to be proved by more cases
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