Design management as dynamic capabilities: a historiographical analysis

This study aims to analyse design management as a dynamic capability.

This is a systematic review with paper searches conducted on the ISI Web of Science database’s Social Sciences Citation Index, complemented by a historiographical analysis developed using the HistCite software.

The analysis of paper allowed for the identification of three processes that, if integrated, construct design management as a dynamic capability, namely, design learning, design coordination and design skills. Design learning corresponds to the skill of acquiring and absorbing knowledge and practices and spreading them throughout the whole organisation, and design coordination corresponds to the capability to coordinate the activities and practices that are necessary for good design. Finally, design skills comprise a set of techniques and knowledge that generate synergy, creativity and innovation.

This perspective suggests a new concept of design management that allows organisations to achieve a competitive advantage in environments of rapid technological change.

This study contributes to the literature on design management as a dynamic capability. Another contribution is that design management presents itself as an important dynamic that is capable of creating and maintaining a competitive edge through its potential to generate innovation and creativity and to make firms more flexible and dynamic.