An investigation of how design-oriented organisations implement design thinking

Abstract

This paper examines how design-oriented organisations implement design thinking to develop design outcomes. An empirical investigation revealed that organisations implement design thinking by: (1) creating and disseminating end-user profiles across the organisation, (2) cultivating organic organisational structures to increase collaborations, (3) using brand image to establish a design language, and (4) factoring in competitors’ design outputs to stimulate design thinking. Design thinking is typically understood as a process that results in many possibilities for innovation. The results of this study offer an alternate understanding of design thinking as a creative process that is structured by these four key implementation schemes.