A cross-cultural assessment of leading values in design-oriented companies

Purpose – This study is an attempt to approach design management from a cultural perspective. Specifically, the paper assumes that design orientation reflects an underlying organisational culture that distinguishes design-oriented companies from the rest and reinforces their capability to generate competitive advantage from design management. The aim is to disentangle the main characteristics of this culture. Design/methodology/approach – A case study research approach was adopted to gain some initial insights on the cultural characteristics of the population considered in the present study. Findings – The results of the field study identify a set of general values and product-related values shared by the design-oriented companies considered in this research. In addition, the existence of functional sub-cultures and cross-cultural differences is analysed, together with a discussion on how organisational culture and functional sub-cultures can co-exist in this specific context. Research limitations/implications – Although a rich set of qualitative data was garthered, the number of cases is still too small to consider replications and opportunities for theory building. Originality/value – The paper proposes a structured description of design orientation from a multiple level of analysis (organisational culture and individual sub-cultures). It provides useful insights on interaction and harmonisation between these levels, leading to a better understanding of the drivers of design-oriented behaviour. Additionally, the cross-cultural setting of the study addresses the interconnectedness of cross-cultural design practices and design-oriented managerial values.