Utilizing design in facilitating innovations at Turkish firms

Abstract

In response to the call of the European Commission (2010) this research aims to understand the extent to which leading Turkish firms utilize design thinking in facilitating innovations. A theoretical framework of design management is built based on literature review, and multiple case study methodology is applied in which 20 Turkish companies from a variety sectors are studied through on-site observations and interviews with their managers using the developed framework. Eight models of design capacity were identified based on the empirical study, and results show that firms differ in their use of design management practices in facilitating innovations. This research contributes to the emerging field of design management, building on the works of Kootstra (2009), Heskett & Liu (2012) and Storvang et al. (2013).