FROM CONCEPTUALIZING TO READY-TO-SELL DESIGNING: CREATIVE NETWORKS AND DESIGN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN A DIGITAL MANUFACTURING ERA.

In this paper we argue that new 3-D printing technology is a form of disruptive innovation that is transforming the design and prototyping service sectors. Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) are growing in manufacturing industries, where they play the fundamental role of boosting and strengthening company innovation and competitiveness. Creativity based KIBS are especially flourishing as they support product innovation in design-driven industries. It is in these sectors that 3-D technology is fundamentally transforming the design and production processes, and thereby the industry’s business model. The key feature of this technology is that it allows firms to produce small quantities of customized goods at relatively low costs. This is affecting incumbent companies by adding “Business to Consumer” (B2C) activities to their previous “Business to Business” (B2B) business models, and is accelerating the creation of new design ventures. B2C activities can be undertaken by new, small, firms with few technological capabilities, leveraging external creative sources and crowd-sourcing to create new products. In this paper we describe a number of business model “building-blocks” identified through qualitative inquiry of illuminatory cases. Finally, we develop a number of propositions to do with the business-models of prototyping companies and design new ventures.