The role of social manufacturing for entrepreneurship in the industry 4.0 transformation

Social manufacturing is an internet-and social network-based platform where different manufacturers' capabilities can be seen and manufacturers with similar skills and hardware levels can come together to form communities. In the horizontal community, manufacturers who have similar socialised manufacturing resources and can perform the same processing activities are brought together. In the vertical community, there are manufacturers who can take part in different production activities of a product, from raw material to final product, and combine their socialised resources in this direction. Social manufacturing allows the bargaining power of the main producer to decrease thanks to the communities it establishes. The social manufacturing platform is a virtual showcase for small-scale entrepreneurs to present their talents, an effective cost management mechanism for customers, and an interaction, coordination, and sharing tool that will maximise production efficiency for countries. © 2023, IGI Global.