Thirteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

Whatever the form of entrepreneurship or the context in which it is practiced there is no doubt that entrepreneurs today are de facto leaders and vice versa. In their search for new approaches that are creative, innovative and effective, increasingly entrepreneurial leaders, are turning to, or perhaps themselves becoming, design-innovators to lead creative strategies for socio-economic value creation. Design Thinking as seen by many is a way of ensuring competitive advantage through creative human-centred approaches. As a consequence, many variations of models of Design Thinking have evolved in business education as opposed to the interdisciplinary environment originally envisaged. Typically, few experienced designers are involved and some scholars maintain that Design Thinking is a failed experiment (Nussbaum 2011). The role of design methodologies in creating value for all stakeholders in a given ecosystem is significant as they provide the impetus to collaborate, share and integrate while co-creating the new. But what are the emerging design led methodologies that are the catalysts for different approaches for building knowledge? What are the animating principles for different forms of distributed open innovation? And how can we equip future leaders to better navigate complexity. This paper looks into the link between entrepreneurial leadership and design principles and practices, in doing so it articulates the new theoretical framework of Design Dynamics. This conceptual model offers insight into how entrepreneurial leaders employ cognitive design processes and strategic design principles in practice to engage in continuous development innovation in the pursuit of shared value creation.