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 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. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.