Design Management Absorption Model: A Framework to Describe and Measure the Absorption Process of Design Knowledge by Smes with Little or No Prior Design Experience

The introduction of new design knowledge or design resources in companies with little or no design experience has been at the core of design support programmes in several countries. Scholars investigated the use of design and identified different design and design management capabilities to deploy design effectively in companies of all sizes. However, how design and design management capability is built in SMEs with little or no prior design experience is insufficiently investigated. Based on the absorptive capacity construct from the broader field of innovation studies, this paper proposes a comprehensive design management absorption model that includes design management capabilities enabling design absorption in SMEs with little or no prior design experience as well as indicators to measure the progress of absorption. The model allows for analysing and guiding the process companies go through when using design as a strategic resource for the first time.

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