Managerial Determinants in Design Management as a Means of Developing Organisational Resilience in an Uncertain Economic Environment

Abstract

Theoretical background: Design management is of paramount relevance in many modern organisations, increasingly also in those operating in Poland, remaining an independent approach to change management for the creation of new products and services, achieving better productivity and efficiency in a global and competitive environment. Until now, the basis of design management processes has been to understand the needs of the user or customer, their expectations and aspirations. This approach, like many management concepts, is now undergoing a transformation, driven by huge economic, social, political and environmental changes. The uncertainty of tomorrow, facing crises, wars, erupting pandemics are just some of the so-called Black Swans causing the need for management change in organisations. Nowadays, design management is experiencing a boom, which is primarily linked to a shift away from seeing it only on an operational level or as a marketing function to emphasising its strategic importance. In this situation, the concept of “just in time”, familiar from management by quality, should evolve into “just in case” in a much broader reference than that relating to the production, delivery or storage of raw materials and finished goods. The design management model presented in the article is an example of an activity that responds to the needs of companies precisely in conditions of variability, due to the fact that its essence is flexibility and the possibility of redesigning it by adding or subtracting specific constructs, appropriate to the just in case situation.

Purpose of the article: This article aims to present how managerial conditions conducive to the implementation of design management activities can support companies in achieving organisational resilience in a world defined by the acronym “BANI”.

Research methods: The research problem is to identify managerial determinants conducive to the implementation of design management activities through which companies can achieve organisational resilience. In order to obtain an answer to the research problem so posed, a literature review of design management approaches was conducted, with a presentation of the traditional Danish Design Ladder model and its updated version, adapted to the BANI concept. Based on the literature, the acronyms “VUCA” and “BANI”, used to describe current economic phenomena, were explained. The article then presents some of the results of a survey conducted in 2019–2020, in companies registered in Poland. Quantitative estimation using the CATI method (1,200 medium and large enterprises) and qualitative verification using PAPI and IDI techniques (58 large enterprises with a high level of project maturity and experience in implementing project management) were used.

Main findings: The paper presents design management as a type of organisational activity important for achieving organisational resilience. The essence of design management, its two models and the management conditions necessary to implement this approach were described. The role of managers in implementing change in an organisation is characterised. The above considerations are based on a literature review and own research.