Digitalization and the momentous role being assumed by data are commonly viewed as pervasive phenomena whose impact is felt in all aspects of society and the economy. Design activity is by no means immune from this trend, and the relationship between digitalization and design is decades old. However, what is the current impact of this ‘data revolution’ on design? How will the design activity change? What are the resulting research questions of interest to academics? What are the main challenges for firms and for educational institutions having to cope with this change? The paper provides a comprehensive conceptual framework, based on recent literature and anecdotal evidence from the industry. It identifies three main streams: namely the consequences on designers, the consequences on design processes and the role of methods for data analytics. In turn, these three streams lead to implications at individual, organizational and managerial level, and several questions arise worthy of defining future research agendas. Moreover, the paper introduces relational diagrams depicting the interactions between the objects and the actors involved in the design process and suggests that what is occurring is by no means a simple evolution but a paradigmatic shift in the way artefacts are designed.

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PurposeThe implementation of product lifecycle management (PLM) technologies poses different challenges in comparison to the ones faced by companies using other information systems. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of PLM on both new product development (NPD) process and on users' individual work, and also to analyse the linkages between PLM's organizational impact and users' attitudes towards technology.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on a survey of PLM end‐users in an aerospace company.FindingsThis paper shows that in the NPD process, PLM favoured a tighter workflow logic, easier product carryover, and more efficient product data retrieval. At the individual level, this has led users to spend more time on technical work, without impacting their productivity. This was true in the product design department and for older workers with low job seniority in particular.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the findings were drawn from a single case, this paper highlights the contribution made by technology acceptance models in explaining the organizational impact of technologies that support complex knowledge‐intensive tasks.Practical implicationsThis paper points out that for a technology like PLM, each user needs different supporting mechanisms depending on his/her role and age. Young workers primarily need adequate sponsorship by top management and compatibility of new technology with their job. Older users, given their higher initial scepticism, need more training in the early phases of a new technology's introduction.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to existing literature by providing empirical evidence of both the impact of PLM systems and the determinants of their acceptance among end‐users.

Purpose Short delivery time is a feature that can influence consumers’ purchasing decisions and that retailers compete over fiercely. Accordingly, evaluating the effect of delivery time on demand and identifying marketing-mix variables that alter this relationship may influence retailers’ strategies and impact supply chain (SC) performance. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This study was performed in collaboration with the largest furniture retailer in Italy, which provided its sales and inventory data for 19,000 units sold over a six-month period in 32 stores throughout Italy. Data were analysed using logistic regression with fixed effects. Findings The value of delivery time for consumers, even in an industry generally characterised by long delivery lead times, is surprisingly high. The evidence reveals that when the delivery time changes from two days to seven days, demand is reduced by 37.5 per cent, although variables related to location and the marketing mix moderate this relationship. Practical implications Retailers can use the findings presented herein to drive their inventory and facility planning decisions and support investments in SC integration. Originality/value Supply chain management (SCM) studies consider the value of delivery time anecdotally and have neglected empirical estimations of the magnitude of the effects of delivery time on consumer demand. Further, SCM studies have not explored the factors moderating this relationship, although intertemporal choice and service management studies have demonstrated the existence of such factors.

Introduction: The neurobiological mechanisms underlying recovery from or persistence of low back pain (LBP) remain misunderstood, limiting progress toward effective management. We have developed an innovative two-tier design to study the transition from acute to chronic LBP. The objective of the first tier is to create a provincial web-based infrastructure to recruit and monitor the trajectory of individuals with acute LBP. The objective of the second tier is to fuel hypothesis-driven satellite data collection centers with specialized expertise to study the role of biomechanical, epigenetic, genetic, neuroanatomical, ontological, physiological, psychological, and socioeconomic factors in LBP chronicity. Methods: This article describes the first tier of the protocol: establishment of the Core Dataset and Cohort. Adults with acute LBP will be recruited through networks, media, and health care settings. A web-based interface will be used to collect self-reported variables at baseline and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. Acute LBP will be defined according to the Dionne 2008 consensus. Measurements will include the Canadian minimum data set for chronic LBP research, DN4 for neuropathic pain, comorbidities, EQ-5D-5L for quality of life, and linkage with provincial medico-administrative databases. The primary outcome will be the transition to chronic LBP, as defined by Deyo 2014. Secondary outcomes include health care resource utilization, disability, sick leave, mood, and quality of life. Perspective: This study brings together diverse research expertise to investigate the transition from acute to chronic LBP, characterize the progression to recovery or chronicity, and identify patterns associated with that progression.

Product cost estimation (PCE) still draws the attention of researchers and practitioners, even though it has been extensively discussed in the literature for more than 20 years. This is due to its central impact on the company's performance. Nowadays, the adoption of cost estimation methods seems to be limited, despite the multitude of examples and applications available. A possible reason is the multitude of approaches and techniques proposed in the literature, which, instead of representing a guide for enabling possible implementations, actually create confusion and ambiguity on their appropriateness for a particular application. Hence, this paper aims to provide a systematic review of the recent literature in the field of PCE, and intensively investigates the aspects that can enable a more conscious decision on the type of technique to be adopted. This results in the identification of five different perspectives, which can be taken simultaneously into account. By combining the different viewpoints, a new multilayer framework is derived, with a specific focus on the whole product life cycle. The proposed framework can be used as a decision-making tool by both researchers and practitioners. In fact, the former group can benefit from the new structure, as a way to identify new areas of possible research opportunities. The latter group is provided an operative guide for the application in industrial contexts.

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