The 'national design system' perspective for technological catch-up: A conceptual note

There is an increasing recognition that design capability -one of the most powerful skills and expertise for improving the productivity of technology transfer and catalyzing innovation, for smoothing the journey from research insight to practical, marketable applications-is tough to acquire during the process of technological catch-up in middle-income countries. Thus, the difficulty of learning how to design the products or of acquiring the design capability beyond the production technology is one of the crises that have to unfold. The aim of this research thus is in response to this crisis by proposing a conceptual framework of 'National Design System' -the elements that interact in shaping design process as well as elements that link design to economic performance-for the technological catch-up. Specifically, based on the best data and evidence available, a list of indicators such as industrial design rights, design-intensive goods export and share of counterfeiting exports has been identified to capture the national design system in developing countries. Instead of making a conclusive argument, this research is mainly trying to conduct a conceptual analysis thus to stimulate further discussion.