Boosting innovation and growth through the use of design

Abstract

The question underpinning this study is: would the incorporation of design throughout every dimension of a company's business pursuing innovation result in higher levels of growth and competitiveness? The paper begins with a brief theoretical approach to the concepts of creativity, design and innovation and identifies some of the traditional company growth strategies. This paper provides, in the context of design management, a first empirical analysis on the relationship between company growth and the investments in design along the value chain, stressing the importance of the phase in which design gets applied for the first time (“momentum”). The empirical analysis was based on data captured from an online questionnaire on the Portuguese manufacturing industry. The multivariate data analysis focused on the analysis of variance and factor analysis. The pa- per has the merit to conclude that the companies growing more sharply apply design from generating ideas to processes and production and extending into the marketing phase.

Keywords:

• design
• creativity
• innovation
• growth strategies
• data analysis
• design manage- ment
• phases of design use

JEL Classification:

• O32
• O33
• L6

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pedro Picaluga Nevado

Pedro Picaluga NEVADO is an Assistant Professor of Management Strategy at Lisboa School of Business and Administration (ISEG), University of Lisbon. He has been co-Director of postgraduate programs in International Business and Marketing (ISEG). He has also previous experience as a busi- ness consultant. He holds a PhD in Management.

José Monteiro Barata

José Monteiro BARATA is an Assistant Professor of Economics, R&D Management and Industrial Organization at Lisboa School of Business and Administration (ISEG), University of Lisbon. He has been Coordinator of Graduate and Post-Graduate courses at the Portuguese School of Banking Management (Portuguese Banking Association). His primary research interests include Innovation Management, R&D Management and Management Information Systems for the Financial Industry. He holds a PhD in Economics.

Rita Assoreira Almendra

Rita Assoreira ALMENDRA is a Designer and Assistant Professor at the Department of Design, Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon. She finished her PhD hosted by the same University. The Thesis title was “Decision making in the Conceptual Phase of Design Process: a descriptive study contributing for the strategic adequacy and overall quality of design outcomes”. Rita Almendra has also a Master on Design Management (INSEAD) and a MBA with marketing specialization (Portu- guese Catholic University). She is currently the coordinator of the Design Group at CIAUD – Center of Research in Architecture, Urbanism and Design – from FA Ulisbon.