Design as a strategic competence for continuous innovation

The traditional literature on management of innovation is tipically focused on the role of technologies and R&D investments for innovation. However, this approach is poorly consistent where companies cannot invest in basic research because of their small scale and lack of financial resources. Design, therefore, becomes one of the possible factors to increase their potential competitive advantage. This paper aims at analysing the most suitable organizational and methodological solutions to maximize the contribution of design to the process of product innovation. The results derive from a joint research programme, developed by an interdisciplinary team of designers, design management researchers, engineering researchers of Politecnico di Milano, and innovation management researchers of SDA Bocconi School of Management. Six case histories are presented in order to identify some essential guidelines to both innovation managers and designers to maximize the contribution of the design for product innovation through the most suitable organizational and methodological solutions.