The importance of design for firms׳ competitiveness: A review of the literature

Scholars dedicated increasing attention towards appreciating how design has changed individuals׳ perception of new products, firms׳ understanding and formulation of strategy, or other relevant actors׳ approach to innovation and technology management. By emphasising the importance of design for the d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Technovation 2014-11, Vol.34 (11), p.716-730
Main Author: Ippolito, Beatrice D'
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business
Competitive advantage
Competitiveness
Consumers
Consumers׳ needs
Design
Design engineering
Design thinking
Evolution
Firm competitiveness
Information technology
Innovation
Innovations
Literature review
New products
Organizational structure
Perception
Reconfiguration
Research gaps
Strategy
Strategy making
Studies
Tasks
Technological change
Value creation
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Summary:Scholars dedicated increasing attention towards appreciating how design has changed individuals׳ perception of new products, firms׳ understanding and formulation of strategy, or other relevant actors׳ approach to innovation and technology management. By emphasising the importance of design for the definition of consumers׳ needs, the restructuring of firms׳ organisational structures and strategies, and the evolution of firms׳ value creation processes, this review paper identifies relevant research gaps and questions that would benefit from future scholarly attention. In particular, it is suggested that such effort should address the analysis of how design consumption can help better comprehend consumers׳ needs; what are the implications of design thinking on the skill sets of design professionals; the organisational structure of firms, including the reconfiguration of other business functions, and their strategy; and whether and how design thinking can shape firms׳ value creation processes and contribute to the formalisation of design tasks. •Conceptual review paper about the role of design in management science.•Discusses how a focus on design can help better comprehend consumers׳ needs.•Explores how design can shape the configuration of other business functions.•Explores how design can affect firms׳ value creation processes.•Identifies gaps and questions for future research in the innovation literature.
ISSN:0166-4972
1879-2383
DOI:10.1016/j.technovation.2014.01.007