THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF DESIGN MANAGEMENT TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE WITHIN SMALL MEXICAN TECHNOLOGY-BASED ENTERPRISES IN NEW TECHNOLOGICAL INDUSTRIES

ABSTRACT
This thesis discusses how design management can play a relevant role to improve the performance of small Mexican technology-based enterprises (TBEs) in new technological industries. The research began exploring the general role of design in Mexican business context and a gap in the literature was revealed about the role of design management and its relevance on the development of technological innovations in Mexican TBEs. A multi-method design research was adopted to identify and further detail data about the benefits and effects of design management in small Mexican TBEs. Therefore, a QUALquan design approach was utilised to apply sequentially qualitative and quantitative methods to develop a model (theory) that later was subjected to testing. The first action was to explore the context of the study through qualitative methods in order to develop an instrument (diagnostic toolkit) that enabled the researcher to evaluate the condition of the case studies within their current business practices. Then, the researcher implemented the second strategy to know the condition of the principal case studies to provide an intervention treatment. This allowed the researcher to introduce and implement design management practices within the case studies for a period of seven months to later assess once again the case studies to prove whether the intervention had provoked a change. Findings suggested that the implementation of design management can help small Mexican TBEs in new technological industries to improve their performance. The primary contribution of this research was to produce a detailed account of the conditions in which small Mexican TBEs in new technological industries operate and how they were affected by the implementation of design management. This helped to provide a holistic perspective on the use of design management, design thinking and design leadership. Similarly, it assisted in the development of an empirically confirmed design toolkit to assess the condition and design abilities and capabilities of small Mexican TBEs. The design toolkit offered users the opportunity to obtain results and suggestions about their condition and to identify and apply a series of methods, tools and techniques that can be implemented in their three levels of business activities: strategic, tactical and operational engagement.