Academy for Design Innovation Management Conference
Loughborough University London
June 18-21, 2019
Call for papers
Track 4H: Uncovering Organisational Practices of Design Businesses
Deadline for papers: January 29, 2019
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Convenors
Alison Rieple
Westminster Business School, UK
A.Rieple@westminster.ac.uk
Antonius van den Broek
Loughborough University London, UK
A.vandenbroek@lboro.ac.uk
Alice Comi
Kingston Business School, UK
A.Comi@kingston.ac.uk
Manto Gotsi
Westminster Business School, UK
M.Gotsi@westminster.ac.uk
Track outline
In this track we aim to increase our understanding of the organisational practices of design businesses. These could include, among others, digital design studios, product design firms, service design consultancies, fashion houses, computer game studios or architecture practices.
While a growing body of literature address the outcomes, processes and utility of design, there is still a paucity of research that addresses the organisational and managerial practices of businesses that offer such services.
Previous studies have indicated that such creativity-driven organisations often do not conform to what is described in the traditional management literature (e.g. DeFillippi et al., 2007). In contrast to traditional views of management which favours centralised control, managers in design businesses are frequently challenged by ideals of limited bureaucratic control, loose structures and informality.
To make sense of organisational and management practices in these organisations requires to embrace the paradoxes of individual and collective agency (Abecassis-Moedas et al., 2012), deliberate and emergent action (Comi & Whyte, 2017), visible and invisible hierarchies (Brown et al., 2010) and between creative exploration and routines (Andriopoulos & Lewis, 2010).
In this track we are interested in gaining a better understanding of how design businesses cope with such dichotomies and gain insights into the potentially peculiar way of organising that allow these businesses to thrive.
We encourage submissions that address conceptual, methodological and empirical concerns and particularly welcome critical management perspectives.
Indicative questions include:
• How do design businesses manage for competitiveness?
• How are management-decisions made in design businesses?
• How is power distributed in design businesses?
• How does identity and culture influence managerial practices in design businesses?
Indicative References:
Abecassis-Moedas, C., Mahmoud-Jouini, S. B., DellEra, C., Manceau, D., & Verganti, R. (2012). Key resources and internationalization modes of creative knowledge-intensive business services: The case of design consultancies. Creativity and Innovation Management, 21(3), 315-331.
Brown, A. D., Kornberger, M., Clegg, S. R., & Carter, C. (2010). Invisible walls and silent hierarchies: A case study of power relations in an architecture firm. Human Relations, 63(4), 525-549.
Comi, A., & Whyte, J. (2018). Future making and visual artefacts: an ethnographic study of a design project. Organization Studies, 39(8), 1055-1083.
DeFillippi, R., Grabher, G., & Jones, C. (2007). Introduction to paradoxes of creativity: Managerial and organizational challenges in the cultural economy. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 28, 511-521.
Gotsi, M., Andropoulos, C., Lewis, M. W., & Ingram, A. E. (2010). Managing creatives: Paradoxical approaches to identity regulation. Human Relations, 63(6), 781-805.
Ravasi, D., & Lojacono, G. (2005). Managing design and designers for strategic renewal. Long Range Planning, 38(1), 51-77.
Townley, B., Beech, N., & McKinlay, A. (2009). Managing in the creative industries: Managing the motley crew. Human Relations, 62(7), 939-962.
Alison Rieple is Professor of Strategic Management at Westminster Business School and Director of IDEaS: Innovation Design Entrepreneurship and Strategy Research Group. Her interests include management of design and innovation, especially in the creative and cultural industries.
Antonius van den Broek is Lecturer in Design Innovation at Loughborough University London. His research focuses on management in design businesses and interested in the role of design and animation in strategy development. Prior to his academic career Antonius worked for 10 years in the design industry.
Alice Comi is a Lecturer in Business Design at Kingston University London. Her research explores the intersections of business and design, focusing on the role of visual artefacts (e.g., maps, models, sketches) in practices of organizing and strategizing. Alice is also teaching themes of branding design and design thinking, helping students experience how design can sustain business.
Manto Gotsi earned her Ph.D. in Marketing at the University of Strathclyde and is a Reader in Marketing and Research Leader at the Westminster Business School, University of Westminster. Her research focuses on the nature and management of innovation tensions and paradoxes and has been published in journals such as the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Human Relations, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, European Journal of Marketing, International Small Business Journal, among others.
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