Supervisors

ABSTRACT

The dense and complex network that characterizes the organization of the automotive industries is the background scenario for the research question. How can suppliers adapt their design process (if they own one) within this dense and complex network that generates multiple inputs and demands specific, high quality and on-time outputs? Most suppliers of automakers are now system and module suppliers that not only deliver complex parts to assembly factories but are also pushed by industry dynamics to take part in the design process. This approach is particularly interesting for the Portuguese suppliers and other international SME operating in the country.

This approach and context suggest the research question: why design matters for smaller companies in the automotive industry?

The backbone of this research is the industrial design. Hence, the literature review starts and ends with design researchers and theorists. The presented review tends to approach seminal authors since the goal is to support theoretically all the study fields where this research stands. Starting with Bruno Munari, one of the most influential theorists in the field of design process and methodologies and going through the conceptual definition of industries that suits the design approach – the resource-based view (RBV).

Literature Review

The dense and complex network that characterizes the organization of the automotive industries is the background scenario for the research question. How can suppliers adapt their design process (if they own one) within this dense and complex network that generates multiple inputs and demands specific, high quality and on-time outputs? Most suppliers of automakers are now system and module suppliers that not only deliver complex parts toLiterature Review.

Today’s conceptual definition of an industry, is of a firm carrying an indefinitely large number of activities, activities related to the discovery and estimation of future wants, to research, development and design (Richardson, 1972). We can call these conception of industry as Resource-based View – RBV (Sako, 2007). These activities must be carried out by organizations with appropriate capabilities – knowledge, experience and skills (Richardson, 1972). These are carried out through a dense network of links where car manufacturers, dealers, service providers, component and materials suppliers can be found.

As per Mari Sako Resource-based view (RBV) conception of industry, author Jay Barney explores that in a Resource-based view conception, there is a relation between firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Meaning that the resource-based view (RBV) concept offers strategists a means of evaluating potential factors that can be deployed to confer a competitive advantage to a firm. Hence, Barney developed the VRNI criteria (Barney, 1991) where the firm’s key resources should be evaluated as: Valuable, Rare, Imperfectly Imitable and Non-Substitutable (Barney, 1991). Strategic management decisions should point to develop, nurture and protect resources that follows these criteria.

However, researcher Brigitte Borja de Mozota has explained the substantial value of Design for industries at three design value levels, design as tactical driver, design as organizational driver and design as strategic driver (Mozota, 2003). Moreover, Mozota connects the resource base view business perspective with the design perspective, the design resource competence. Hence, design management has been moving from considering design as an external competitive advantage (fit with the external environment) to also thinking of design as an internal, sustained competitive advantage (a resource or a core competency), (Mozota, Kim, 2009). Design valuation has transitioned from an economic view (increasing market share and brand) to a process performance view (reducing cost or time to market and improving innovation systems) to a strategic view of resources (creating new markets and retaining valued employees), (Mozota, Kim, 2009).

Research Question and Propositions

Q1: Why Design matters for smaller companies in the automotive industry?
Giving the complexity of the subject, the following propositions, based on introductory literature review and candidate and supervisors’ knowledge, will help to direct the preliminary research path and to map design processes:
P1: There is a dynamic strategy associated with the multiple inputs and outputs between customer/supplier activities that affects the supplier’s design process.
P1a: There are significant economic impacts on design decisions that affects the profitability of each projects.
P1b: The customer/supplier relationship is affected by the design process performance for each project.
P1c: There is an overall industry performance gain with the capability of generating and managing design process within the small companies.
P2: The supplier’s design process is affected and modelled by the different inputs that are specific of each customer.

Research Methods

Robert K. Yin, is a seminal author for case study research. He has defined thoroughly the design and methods for building a valid and consistent case study. Through Yin, the choice for a case study research-based methodology was undoubtedly. assembly factories but are also pushed by industry dynamics to take part in the design process. This approach is particularly interesting for the Portuguese suppliers and other international SME operating in the country.

This approach and context suggest the research question: why design matters for smaller companies in the automotive industry?

The backbone of this research is the industrial design. Hence, the literature review starts and ends with design researchers and theorists. The presented review tends to approach seminal authors since the goal is to support theoretically all the study fields where this research stands. Starting with Bruno Munari, one of the most influential theorists in the field of design process and methodologies and going through the conceptual definition of industries that suits the design approach – the resource-based view (RBV).

References

1. Barney, J. (1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Los Angeles: Journal of Management.
2. Cross, N. (2000). Engineering Design Methods – Strategies for Product Design. London: John Wiley & Sons.
3. Camacho, J. F. (2006). A Espanha e o Cluster da Galiza na Dinâmica Macroeuropeia da Indústria Automóvel 1995 – 2005. Lisboa: Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa – Escola de Gestão.
4. De Mozota, B. B. (2003). Design Management. New York: Allworth Press.
5. De Mozota, B. B., Kim, B.Y. (2009). Managing Design as a Core Competency: Lessons from Korea. New York: Wiley Blackwell.
6. Marcelino, J. R. (2005). Gestão do Design – Sector Automóvel. Lisboa: IAPMEI.
7. Marcelino, J. R. (2012). Product Design: Managing the process, the competencies and the culture in a design studio. Lisboa: Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Arquitectura.
8. Muratovski, G. (2016). Research for Designers. London: Sage.
9. Sako, M. (2007). Do industries matter? Oxford: Labour Economics Journal.
10. Yin, R. (2009). Case study research: design and methods. London: Sage