Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a critical literature review on design management. Design/methodology/approach The map of the field is based on the analysing the chain of associations between the papers (Latour, 1987). The strategy for this review is informed by the methodology described by Callon et al. (1986) on following the construction of the arguments. The first search was conducted in EBESCO and Web of Science looking for papers dealing with design management; “design management”; innovat* and design* in the management, including title, keywords and abstract. It resulted in 8,216 articles that were exported and downloaded in a database. Findings Five groups emerged: design as rational decision making, industrial design, managing as designing, design as proposals of new meaning and design as a network construction. Originality/value This paper maps the role of designers in innovation and design management literature. Design management is a variegated field of research, and the focus of this paper has been on product design in business and management literature. To begin with, the research philosophy which was inferred by analysing the preferred methodology in the papers belonging to five perspectives was analysed, and the ontology, essence, metaphysics delineated. Then, a map of the field of on the role of designers was proposed. The author concluded with a reflection of a possible research agenda in design management, focussing on investigating the role of designers in transformational economies, such as Vietnam.
Highlights
IntroductionDesign practices are increasingly generating debates among practitioners and academics, as the numerous reports (e.g. from the British Design Council and British Council) and streams in workshops and in management conferences demonstrate (e.g. innovation and product development conference; strategic management society; European group of organisation studies)
Design practices are increasingly generating debates among practitioners and academics, as the numerous reports and streams in workshops and in management conferences demonstrate
The field of design management has progressively moved away from design being referred as competitive tool for industrial products (e.g. Walsh et al, 1988) to become a tool for solving problems in the organisational, public sector and social context (e.g. Dorst, 2015)
Summary
Design practices are increasingly generating debates among practitioners and academics, as the numerous reports (e.g. from the British Design Council and British Council) and streams in workshops and in management conferences demonstrate (e.g. innovation and product development conference; strategic management society; European group of organisation studies). The field of design management has progressively moved away from design being referred as competitive tool for industrial products Walsh et al, 1988) to become a tool for solving problems in the organisational, public sector and social context Because of its wide range of uses, design is a general term (Heskett, 2002) and it has different definitions depending on the aim of the research: design can be researched as an outcome, as a process, or as a purpose (Ravasi and Stigliani, 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
