Table 3 Factors for the selection of AM...

Table 3

Factors for the selection of AM technologies from the perspective of innovation and technology adoption

Innovator characteristics (demand-side)
Customer level of education	Ability of the customer to utilize the innovation (Dedehayir et al., 2017)
Customer resources	Current financial condition of the customer who demands AM machines or products and services based on AM (Willard and Cooper, 1985)
Market demand	Customers' current and forecasted demand (Dedehayir et al., 2017)
Customer installed base (previous, current, potential)	Number of units in which the innovation was in use (previous), is in use (current) or will potentially be in use (potential) (Greenstein, 1993)
Intended frequency of use	Rate at which the product is planned to be used (Steenhuis and Pretorius, 2016)
Innovation characteristics (innovation itself)
Relative technological performance	Comparison of the product's characteristics to other alternative's characteristics (Schumpeter, 1934), for example, in terms of reliability, defect rate or ease of use (Baumers, Tuck, et al., 2016)
Compatibility	Refers to whether two interrelated entities are compatible, whether older generations of a product are compatible with newer ones, also in terms of capabilities and radicalness of innovation (de Vries, 1999)
Flexibility	Incremental costs of adapting the innovation to new customer needs, developments, etc. (van de Kaa et al., 2011)
Perceived risk	Perceived likelihood that something will fail, and the perceived seriousness of the consequences if it does fail (Garbarino and Strahilevitz, 2004)
Relative price/cost/effort	Cost of acquiring the innovation, including capital requirement, cost of taking it into use and training cost (Baumers, Dickens, et al., 2016)
Complementary goods and services	Availability of goods and services that are consumed together with the innovation (e.g. metal powders) (Teece, 1986)
Innovator characteristics (supply-side)
Financial strength	Financial means that are at the disposal of organization to support the innovation, both current and prospective financial means (Willard and Cooper, 1985)
Brand reputation and credibility	Trust in the brand, benefits for society and potential threats (Corkindale and Belder, 2009)
Operational supremacy	Innovator's effectiveness in exploiting its resources relative to the effectiveness of the competitors (Schilling, 2002)
Learning orientation	Innovator’s capacity to acquire skills and absorb information but also to increase its absorptive capacity (Agarwal et al., 2004)
Efficiency of production process	Characteristics of the production process, e.g. in terms of necessary ancillary process steps, build time or energy consumption (Baumers, Tuck, et al., 2016)
Enabling infrastructure, technology or production method	Necessary infrastructure for the innovation to unfurl its utility, e.g. high-power grid for charging stations for electric cars (Ortt, 2017)
Innovation support strategy
Pricing strategy, price structure	“All actions taken to create market share through strategically pricing the products in which the format has been implemented” (van de Kaa et al., 2011, p. 1404)
Appropriability strategy (IPR)	Efforts to protect the innovation against imitation by competitors (Lee et al., 1995)
Timing of entry	Strategic choice of a first market introduction of the innovation (van de Kaa et al., 2011)
Innovation support strategy
Marketing communications	Communication with customers to manage expectations, e.g. by using strategic preannouncements, including sense of mission, lobbying activities or communicability (Shapiro and Varian, 1998)
Distribution strategy	Usage of the distribution system for strategic purposes (Willard and Cooper, 1985)
Commitment (supply-side innovator)	Attention an innovation gets from the actors involved, in terms of support, usually in times of low returns on investment (Willard and Cooper, 1985)
Network formation and coordination strategy	Future direction and plan of action for forming and coordinating a network (Ortt, 2010)
Other stakeholders
Big Fish	Actors who can exert influence on the market through their buying power (Suarez and Utterback, 1995)
Regulator	Public sector officials who specify regulations for a geographic area, for example, pertaining to liability (Suarez and Utterback, 1995)
Standardization organization	Public sector agencies or networks that develop and publish standards, such as IEEE or ISO (Wu et al., 2018)
Judiciary	Legal system that interprets and applies laws as a means to solve conflicts (van de Kaa et al., 2011)
Insurance company	Companies that spread risk among insurance policyholders (Rothman, 1980)
Environmental-level factors
Bandwagon effect	Users choosing the same solution that others already have chosen for a similar problem (de Vries, 1999)
Market uncertainty	Customers hesitant to adopt when level of uncertainty is too high, e.g. rate of change, number of options available or unforeseen (micro) events including international political conflicts (van de Kaa et al., 2011)
Switching costs	Cost of switching between competing technologies or innovations, including resistance to change (Suarez, 2004)
Availability of rules and standards	Rules and standards available to promote the use of a technology (Ortt, 2010)
Job opportunities	Perceived attractiveness of an industry as seen by job seekers, relative to other industries (Joyce and Paquin, 2016)
Sufficient education and skills development	Opportunities to upgrade the skills of workers according to needs of the AM industry (Kianian et al., 2015)
Dissemination of AM in society	Communication about AM as a production method in society. Higher dissemination increases familiarity with the technology (Steenhuis and Pretorius, 2016)
Business model
Imitability, scalability and integrability	Extent to which the innovation/business model can be imitated, whether there is a significant cost and disadvantage for another organization to duplicate the innovation/business model, whether it can respond to increases in demand and whether it can be integrated with the whole value chain (Demil and Lecocq, 2010)
Failure to identify actor or stakeholders	Inability to identify all actors and stakeholders in the business ecosystem (Joyce and Paquin, 2016)
Failure to consider influencing factors	Lack of awareness of trends such as potential technology substitution and inability to adjust the business model accordingly (Chesbrough, 2010)

Innovator characteristics (demand-side)
Customer level of education	Ability of the customer to utilize the innovation (Dedehayir et al., 2017)
Customer resources	Current financial condition of the customer who demands AM machines or products and services based on AM (Willard and Cooper, 1985)
Market demand	Customers' current and forecasted demand (Dedehayir et al., 2017)
Customer installed base (previous, current, potential)	Number of units in which the innovation was in use (previous), is in use (current) or will potentially be in use (potential) (Greenstein, 1993)
Intended frequency of use	Rate at which the product is planned to be used (Steenhuis and Pretorius, 2016)
Innovation characteristics (innovation itself)
Relative technological performance	Comparison of the product's characteristics to other alternative's characteristics (Schumpeter, 1934), for example, in terms of reliability, defect rate or ease of use (Baumers, Tuck, et al., 2016)
Compatibility	Refers to whether two interrelated entities are compatible, whether older generations of a product are compatible with newer ones, also in terms of capabilities and radicalness of innovation (de Vries, 1999)
Flexibility	Incremental costs of adapting the innovation to new customer needs, developments, etc. (van de Kaa et al., 2011)
Perceived risk	Perceived likelihood that something will fail, and the perceived seriousness of the consequences if it does fail (Garbarino and Strahilevitz, 2004)
Relative price/cost/effort	Cost of acquiring the innovation, including capital requirement, cost of taking it into use and training cost (Baumers, Dickens, et al., 2016)
Complementary goods and services	Availability of goods and services that are consumed together with the innovation (e.g. metal powders) (Teece, 1986)
Innovator characteristics (supply-side)
Financial strength	Financial means that are at the disposal of organization to support the innovation, both current and prospective financial means (Willard and Cooper, 1985)
Brand reputation and credibility	Trust in the brand, benefits for society and potential threats (Corkindale and Belder, 2009)
Operational supremacy	Innovator's effectiveness in exploiting its resources relative to the effectiveness of the competitors (Schilling, 2002)
Learning orientation	Innovator’s capacity to acquire skills and absorb information but also to increase its absorptive capacity (Agarwal et al., 2004)
Efficiency of production process	Characteristics of the production process, e.g. in terms of necessary ancillary process steps, build time or energy consumption (Baumers, Tuck, et al., 2016)
Enabling infrastructure, technology or production method	Necessary infrastructure for the innovation to unfurl its utility, e.g. high-power grid for charging stations for electric cars (Ortt, 2017)
Innovation support strategy
Pricing strategy, price structure	“All actions taken to create market share through strategically pricing the products in which the format has been implemented” (van de Kaa et al., 2011, p. 1404)
Appropriability strategy (IPR)	Efforts to protect the innovation against imitation by competitors (Lee et al., 1995)
Timing of entry	Strategic choice of a first market introduction of the innovation (van de Kaa et al., 2011)
Innovation support strategy
Marketing communications	Communication with customers to manage expectations, e.g. by using strategic preannouncements, including sense of mission, lobbying activities or communicability (Shapiro and Varian, 1998)
Distribution strategy	Usage of the distribution system for strategic purposes (Willard and Cooper, 1985)
Commitment (supply-side innovator)	Attention an innovation gets from the actors involved, in terms of support, usually in times of low returns on investment (Willard and Cooper, 1985)
Network formation and coordination strategy	Future direction and plan of action for forming and coordinating a network (Ortt, 2010)
Other stakeholders
Big Fish	Actors who can exert influence on the market through their buying power (Suarez and Utterback, 1995)
Regulator	Public sector officials who specify regulations for a geographic area, for example, pertaining to liability (Suarez and Utterback, 1995)
Standardization organization	Public sector agencies or networks that develop and publish standards, such as IEEE or ISO (Wu et al., 2018)
Judiciary	Legal system that interprets and applies laws as a means to solve conflicts (van de Kaa et al., 2011)
Insurance company	Companies that spread risk among insurance policyholders (Rothman, 1980)
Environmental-level factors
Bandwagon effect	Users choosing the same solution that others already have chosen for a similar problem (de Vries, 1999)
Market uncertainty	Customers hesitant to adopt when level of uncertainty is too high, e.g. rate of change, number of options available or unforeseen (micro) events including international political conflicts (van de Kaa et al., 2011)
Switching costs	Cost of switching between competing technologies or innovations, including resistance to change (Suarez, 2004)
Availability of rules and standards	Rules and standards available to promote the use of a technology (Ortt, 2010)
Job opportunities	Perceived attractiveness of an industry as seen by job seekers, relative to other industries (Joyce and Paquin, 2016)
Sufficient education and skills development	Opportunities to upgrade the skills of workers according to needs of the AM industry (Kianian et al., 2015)
Dissemination of AM in society	Communication about AM as a production method in society. Higher dissemination increases familiarity with the technology (Steenhuis and Pretorius, 2016)
Business model
Imitability, scalability and integrability	Extent to which the innovation/business model can be imitated, whether there is a significant cost and disadvantage for another organization to duplicate the innovation/business model, whether it can respond to increases in demand and whether it can be integrated with the whole value chain (Demil and Lecocq, 2010)
Failure to identify actor or stakeholders	Inability to identify all actors and stakeholders in the business ecosystem (Joyce and Paquin, 2016)
Failure to consider influencing factors	Lack of awareness of trends such as potential technology substitution and inability to adjust the business model accordingly (Chesbrough, 2010)

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