The emergence of the maker movement: Implications for entrepreneurship research

Abstract The maker movement has been touted as a harbinger of the next industrial revolution. Through shared access to tools and digital fabrication technologies, makers can act as producers in the sharing economy and potentially increase entrepreneurship rates, catalyze advanced manufacturing, and spur economic development. We develop a model of the maker movement configured around social exchange, technology resources, and knowledge creation and sharing. We highlight opportunities for studying the conditions under which the movement might foster entrepreneurship outcomes and discuss how research on the maker movement can deepen our understanding of entrepreneurial teams and corporate entrepreneurship.

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