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.