3. Research methodology: rationale, design and limitations

It has been acknowledged that multiple-case design is more compelling (Yin, 2003), and this kind of study is regarded overall as being more robust. Accordingly, twenty direct interviews were carried out with both design consultants and firms which put industrial design at the centre of their innovation activities. The interviews were carried out between November 2008 and June 2009 in Italy. The focus was on product industrial design in manufacturing firms. The study covers those manufacturing industries in which design plays an important role in innovation activities including furniture, lighting, electrical equipment, interior design, yachts, sailing boats and fashion (see Appendix).

The definition of “design” has opened up, today, to encompass different fields other than product design, this includes visual design, web design, interior design etc. (von Stamm, 2003; Beltagui et al., 2008). The reason to limit the analysis to product design is twofold. First, it allows to “limit” the analysis which would have otherwise been excessively broad. Second, focusing on manufacturing industries allows to investigate the relationship between design and technological innovation which we believe is central for the competiveness of firms in advanced economies. Moreover, this approach allows to transpose some of the theoretical categories developed for technological innovation to innovative design processes.

Regarding the interviews within firms, both the product development manager, R&D manager, as well as the marketing and innovation manager were interviewed depending on the organizational structure of the firm. However, the interlocutors were always people in charge of the development of new products and thus were able to explain how industrial design – and the relationships with designers – are integrated in their firm’s innovation process. The interviews were conducted on site and lasted an hour and half on average. The interview was open-ended and assumed a conversational tone but was based on a set of previously prepared questions. However, the questions were slightly different according to whether the interviewee was a design consultant or a firm’s manager.

4. Industrial design as a source of innovation: the case study findings 

As for technological innovation, design also needs to be “legitimized” by facing market demand. Additionally, the meaning of market demand has to broadened to include a concept resembling some form of social acceptability. The fact that design is no longer limited to meeting the functional and aesthetic needs of the consumer, but rather also aims at meeting the sociological – some said ethical – needs of the people was commonly asserted during the interviews. We will show how this enters the design process. In the following, it is shown how both the production process of the firm and the market demand the firm is expected to face are two key aspects of design-related knowledge.

Market demand is related to the production volumes of the firm. In fact, if the firm is expected to produce a large number of products the designer can chose to use expensive production processes and techniques. On the contrary, in the case of niche products, they have to consider a very different

– and cheaper - approach in terms of production process. This bears fundamental implications in terms of initial fixed investments, as they play a crucial role in design-based firms. Products are in fact produced using presswork requiring large investments for machineries and moulds which are not entirely reusable. A case in point is the boat industry, that is characterized by heavy initial investment in fixed capital. Thus, both the expected volumes of production and amount of investment in fixed capital need to be taken into account.

Finally, social acceptability needs to be included amongst the elements shaping market demand. In this regard a case in point is represented by the increasing importance of the impact of a product in terms of energy-consumption, degree of recycling and environmental impact. These are already key components of the industrial design process. Specifically, the use of particular materials as well as