Technological innovation has frequently been shown to systematically change market structure and value creation. Additive manufacturing (AM), or, colloquially 3D printing, is such a disruptive technology (Berman 2012; Vance 2012). Economic analysis of AM still is scarce and has predominantly focused on production cost or other firm level aspects (e.g., Mellor et al. 2014; Petrovic et al. 2011; Ruffo and Hague 2007), but has neglected the study of AM on value creation and market structure. In this paper, we want to discuss the economic effects of AM on the locus of innovation and production. This is why we first review some current business models that successfully use AM as a source of value creation. Being a potential disruptive influence on market structures, we then discuss how AM may enable a more local production by users, supplementing the recent development of an upcoming infrastructure for innovating users and “Makers”.

Risk culture and safety cultures are a central issue for firms within all industries, with high profile cases of excessive risk taking or the bad behaviour of employees in many different sectors making headlines. In financial services this is one of the factors behind the crisis, but has also surfaced even more damagingly post-crisis in the form of conduct scandals such as LIBOR and various mis-selling cases.