Harnessing the ‘Essential Tension’ of Design: The Complex Relationship between the Firm and Designer Consultants

Filippetti, Andrea

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1586958

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Some scholars have attributed this struggle to the difficulty of managing the relationship between manufacturers and professional designers (Dell'Era and , Ravasi and Lojacono, 2005. Filippetti (2010) emphasised that very often designers are located outside the firm, a condition that raises a central management issue for the firm.…”

Section: Design and Firms' Organisational Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

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

D’Ippolito

2014

Technovation

101

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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.

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Section: Design and Firms' Organisational Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

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

D’Ippolito

2014

Technovation

101

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The broad characteristics of "engineering-type" processes, i.e. strong reliance on experience, heuristics, and case studies, and the tendency to develop integrative forms of practical knowledge, apply to other disciplines such as Finance (Norgaard, 1981), Design (Filippetti, 2010), and Business Studies (Whitley, 1988). In several other areas, the recombination of existing knowledge and routines led to the growth of new disciplines such as 12 See the Babbage institute (http://www.cbi.umn.edu/) and issues of the ACM Computing Surveys (e.g.…”

Section: Institutional Adjustments For Radical Mismatches and New Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovation and skill dynamics: a life-cycle approach

Vona¹,

Consoli²

2014

Ind Corp Change

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This article focuses on the institutional adjustments that facilitate the routinization of technological opportunities. We propose a life-cycle approach that accounts for the emergence, development, and transformation of new knowledge with special emphasis on the role of adaptive educational and training systems for the diffusion of skills that complement new technology. The article reconciles two empirical phenomena associated with radical technological breakthroughs: changes in the skill content within occupations and the process of knowledge systematization underpinning the adaptation of education and training. We claim that systematization is a crucial, but largely overlooked, element in the study of skill mismatches, inequalities, and successful takeoff of new technologies.

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“…That is, what is the relationship between design and these specific attitudes of the firm, such as collaboration and interaction with the external environment. As we know, for example, that designer consultants often make a substantial part in developing new design solutions within the firm (Walsh, 1996;Filippetti, 2010). Thirdly, the multifaceted innovation mode is also associated with a relatively better economic performance when compared to the other modes.…”

Section: Innovation Modes and Economic Performance Of Firmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovation modes and design as a source of innovation: a firm‐level analysis

Filippetti

2011

European Journal of Innovation Management

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Purpose-The purpose of this article is to contribute to the empirical literature, which investigates innovation modes, by exploring the role of design as a source of innovation. Design-methodology/approach-The empirical analysis is carried out at the firm-level, on the ground of a recent survey covering more than 5,000 European firms. A factor analysis is carried out first, followed by a cluster analysis based on identified factors in order to ensure a significant number of homogeneous groups of firms. Findings-The paper finds that: design and R&D are complementary sources of innovation; design is predominant in firms characterized by a complex innovation strategy and intense interactions with the external environment; and these types of firms also show better economic performance. Social implications-Policies should recognize the importance of design-based competences, as they differ from those related to R&D activities. Originality/value-To date, in this empirical research, R&D activity is regarded as the major internal source of knowledge, as well as a fundamental driver of firms' competitiveness. This paper's results show how design enters in this framework and suggests future research directions.

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Harnessing the ‘Essential Tension’ of Design: The Complex Relationship between the Firm and Designer Consultants

Cited by 10 publications

References 25 publications

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

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

Innovation and skill dynamics: a life-cycle approach

Innovation modes and design as a source of innovation: a firm‐level analysis

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