Ingo Rauth | IESE Business School (original) (raw)
Papers by Ingo Rauth
esign thinking (DT) has been promoted as a user-centered approach to innovation, suggesting that ... more esign thinking (DT) has been promoted as a user-centered approach to innovation, suggesting that any firm could learn from the way designers think and work. Although the concept has gained substantial interest among practitioners, there is little coherence around the concept in theory, and empirical studies of DT in organizational settings are very scarce. This paper reports the findings from an exploratory study of the use of DT in large organizations, including product, software, service and healthcare firms. Based on interviews with key informants this paper describes a variety of views on how DT was perceived, used, integrated into existing processes, and who the “design thinkers” are. Implications are drawn for researchers as well as managers interested in implementing DT in their organizations. Especially the difficulties to articulate the meaning of DT seem to have implications for theory and practice.
Recently, Design Thinking (DT) has become a widespread concept, heavily promoted for improving a ... more Recently, Design Thinking (DT) has become a widespread concept, heavily promoted for improving a firm’s innovativeness. Yet, our understanding regarding the potential value of DT is still limited, in both design and innovation research. The purpose of this paper is therefore to investigate how companies that are using DT in practice perceive the value and the effects it creates in their organizations. The paper builds on a study of large organizations in Germany and the US, including 51 semi-structured interviews in 6 large firms. Early findings indicate that although many firms pointed at the expected outcome-related values (such as new ideas, better products), some also underlined other benefits, more related to effects on the innovation process, collaboration practices and company culture. It is thus argued that in addition to known short-term benefits, DT may also contribute to the strengthening of the long-term innovativeness of firms.
Although there is a great interest in user driven innovation, the IT industry still shows a stron... more Although there is a great interest in user driven innovation, the IT industry still shows a strong focus on technology driven innovation development. Understanding the perspective and social context of the user also is not part of a regular technical education. As a result, IT development shows a tendency to concentrate on technical issues while often missing the users‟ actual needs. This case study describes how disregarding the users‟ needs caused serious problems regarding the introduction of the electronic identity card (e-IC) in Germany. We argue that this lack of user-centeredness is a direct result of the underestimated value of empathy and empathic knowledge within many IT projects. We consider empathy to be of crucial importance in the development of IT projects, and it is due to this that we employ the user-centered and problem-solving approach of design thinking. The conclusion reached is that the more active attention is paid to empathy throughout a given project, the le...
Design creativity is one of the most relevant fields in design and innovation. To better understa... more Design creativity is one of the most relevant fields in design and innovation. To better understand the effectiveness and origin of it, this study draws attention to the question of how design creativity can be mediated via design education. Since institutes exist that focus on teaching design thinking, the question arises what the experts of education believe they achieve with their lessons and how they support students in developing a capability of thinking and acting creative. In the empirical part of this study we find that there are different levels of creative knowledge, skills and mindsets that can be achieved by design thinking education, culminating in a capability that is called ‘creative confidence’. Building on these results we demonstrate how design education contributes to both the development and understanding of design creativity. Furthermore we suggest a definition of “design thinking” as a learning model towards creative confidence.
In the face of an ever-changing, complex environment, managers in organizations need constantly t... more In the face of an ever-changing, complex environment, managers in organizations need constantly to develop ideas on how to maintain competitiveness. One way to address this challenge comes in the form of ideas about how to manage – or management ideas (MIs). These may be developed by managers or consultants, and often are publicized through the business and popular press. Some MIs have achieved widespread temporary popularity and adoption, spanning industries and continents. As a result, MIs have been compared to e.g. fashions or even viruses. However, unlike fashions, MIs' popularity is not due to their specific looks or colors but due to their interpretability, i.e., whether or not they allow managers from various backgrounds to interpret their goals and means as in line with those of the MI. While beneficial to inter and intra- organizational spread, interpretability presents managers in charge of widespread intra- organizational adoption with a paradox. On the one side, inte...
White paper, 2020
With increased longevity and a more volatile world, a growing number of people are bewildered by ... more With increased longevity and a more volatile world, a growing number of people are bewildered by the middle of their adult life. They are advised that lifelong learning will help them compete in an increasingly competitive workplace, but most lifelong learning programs focus little on the unique challenges and needs experienced by those navigating midlife. There is a gap in the educational landscape that presents an opportunity for established institutions of higher education and educational startups. Some universities as well as private enterprises have started developing curriculum in line with "long life learning." "Long life learning" focuses on developing a sense of purpose and personal well-being by understanding the positive aspects of aging congruent with established adult development theories to create more resilience through midlife transitions. These new programs foster communities of midlife peers who cultivate, harvest, and share wisdom with one another. As such, graduates of these programs may be better prepared to live lives that are as deep as they are long. Reviewing research on midlife development and featuring the efforts of pioneering institutions, this document provides a platform for thinking about "long life learning" that can catalyze universities, non-profits, and private institutions to develop new offerings that support individuals throughout midlife and prepare them for elderhood, much as public junior and senior high schools have done for adolescents about to enter adulthood.
Design Thinking Research, 2011
ABSTRACT As we manoeuvre through life we often try to predict other people’s behaviours and feeli... more ABSTRACT As we manoeuvre through life we often try to predict other people’s behaviours and feelings; sometimes even our own. A classical take on the matter is to refer to character traits. But there is another source of information we may tap for our predictions – highly relevant and still often overlooked: Knowledge of where the person is. At what place? In which context? The article invites you on a journey of thinking about and exploring the marvellous impacts of places. We will start by visiting personality psychology, attending the quest of its professionals for ever-better behaviour predictions. Subsequently, we will witness an experiment on the importance of places – seeing how a place setup may propel forcefully, almost mercilessly towards innovations. We will then browse personality psychology and other fields in search of fast and easy ways to make sense of places: How are they going to affect us? Who are we going to be there? Finally, we will draw together what we have found and construct a scheme to analyse or design places – which, of course, needs to be put to the test...
Design Management Journal, 2014
Design Thinking Research, 2011
Proceedings of the 18th …, 2011
Although there is a great interest in user driven innovation, the IT industry still shows a stron... more Although there is a great interest in user driven innovation, the IT industry still shows a strong focus on technology driven innovation development. Understanding the perspective and social context of the user also is not part of a regular technical education. ...
Design creativity is one of the most relevant fields in design and innovation. To better understa... more Design creativity is one of the most relevant fields in design and innovation. To better understand the effectiveness and origin of it, this study draws attention to the question of how design creativ...
ispim.org
Future requirements on managers have broadly been discussed in literature, but yet research is st... more Future requirements on managers have broadly been discussed in literature, but yet research is still falling short stating requirements of education methods. Similar gaps turn out in the matter of transferring evolved skills from educational sector into business reality. ...
In Design Thinking, theory and practice are closely interconnected. The theory serves as a bluepr... more In Design Thinking, theory and practice are closely interconnected. The theory serves as a blueprint, guiding companies in general and design teams in particular through the design process. Given such a close interrelation of theory and practice, we argue that Design Thinking research needs to be set up in a particular way too. This setup ties in with Design Thinking process models: To attain ever more befitting design solutions, prototypes are supposed to be tested and refined. Correspondingly, Design Thinking research should help to test and refine theory elements of Design Thinking. Researchers may serve as “dialogue facilitators,” aiding the community of Design Thinkers to intensify their “dialogue” with empirical reality. To provide reliable data on issues of central concern, we have tested experimentally two widely held convictions in the field of Design Thinking: (1) Multidisciplinary teams produce more innovate design solutions than monodisciplinary teams. (2) Teams trained in Design Thinking (by the D-School) produce more innovative solutions than untrained teams. In addition, degrees of communication problems were assessed. While both “multidisciplinarity” and “D-School training” have been associated with more unusual design solutions, with respect to utility a different picture emerged. Thus, hotspots have been identified that may stimulate some productive refinements of Design Thinking theory.
esign thinking (DT) has been promoted as a user-centered approach to innovation, suggesting that ... more esign thinking (DT) has been promoted as a user-centered approach to innovation, suggesting that any firm could learn from the way designers think and work. Although the concept has gained substantial interest among practitioners, there is little coherence around the concept in theory, and empirical studies of DT in organizational settings are very scarce. This paper reports the findings from an exploratory study of the use of DT in large organizations, including product, software, service and healthcare firms. Based on interviews with key informants this paper describes a variety of views on how DT was perceived, used, integrated into existing processes, and who the “design thinkers” are. Implications are drawn for researchers as well as managers interested in implementing DT in their organizations. Especially the difficulties to articulate the meaning of DT seem to have implications for theory and practice.
Recently, Design Thinking (DT) has become a widespread concept, heavily promoted for improving a ... more Recently, Design Thinking (DT) has become a widespread concept, heavily promoted for improving a firm’s innovativeness. Yet, our understanding regarding the potential value of DT is still limited, in both design and innovation research. The purpose of this paper is therefore to investigate how companies that are using DT in practice perceive the value and the effects it creates in their organizations. The paper builds on a study of large organizations in Germany and the US, including 51 semi-structured interviews in 6 large firms. Early findings indicate that although many firms pointed at the expected outcome-related values (such as new ideas, better products), some also underlined other benefits, more related to effects on the innovation process, collaboration practices and company culture. It is thus argued that in addition to known short-term benefits, DT may also contribute to the strengthening of the long-term innovativeness of firms.
Although there is a great interest in user driven innovation, the IT industry still shows a stron... more Although there is a great interest in user driven innovation, the IT industry still shows a strong focus on technology driven innovation development. Understanding the perspective and social context of the user also is not part of a regular technical education. As a result, IT development shows a tendency to concentrate on technical issues while often missing the users‟ actual needs. This case study describes how disregarding the users‟ needs caused serious problems regarding the introduction of the electronic identity card (e-IC) in Germany. We argue that this lack of user-centeredness is a direct result of the underestimated value of empathy and empathic knowledge within many IT projects. We consider empathy to be of crucial importance in the development of IT projects, and it is due to this that we employ the user-centered and problem-solving approach of design thinking. The conclusion reached is that the more active attention is paid to empathy throughout a given project, the le...
Design creativity is one of the most relevant fields in design and innovation. To better understa... more Design creativity is one of the most relevant fields in design and innovation. To better understand the effectiveness and origin of it, this study draws attention to the question of how design creativity can be mediated via design education. Since institutes exist that focus on teaching design thinking, the question arises what the experts of education believe they achieve with their lessons and how they support students in developing a capability of thinking and acting creative. In the empirical part of this study we find that there are different levels of creative knowledge, skills and mindsets that can be achieved by design thinking education, culminating in a capability that is called ‘creative confidence’. Building on these results we demonstrate how design education contributes to both the development and understanding of design creativity. Furthermore we suggest a definition of “design thinking” as a learning model towards creative confidence.
In the face of an ever-changing, complex environment, managers in organizations need constantly t... more In the face of an ever-changing, complex environment, managers in organizations need constantly to develop ideas on how to maintain competitiveness. One way to address this challenge comes in the form of ideas about how to manage – or management ideas (MIs). These may be developed by managers or consultants, and often are publicized through the business and popular press. Some MIs have achieved widespread temporary popularity and adoption, spanning industries and continents. As a result, MIs have been compared to e.g. fashions or even viruses. However, unlike fashions, MIs' popularity is not due to their specific looks or colors but due to their interpretability, i.e., whether or not they allow managers from various backgrounds to interpret their goals and means as in line with those of the MI. While beneficial to inter and intra- organizational spread, interpretability presents managers in charge of widespread intra- organizational adoption with a paradox. On the one side, inte...
White paper, 2020
With increased longevity and a more volatile world, a growing number of people are bewildered by ... more With increased longevity and a more volatile world, a growing number of people are bewildered by the middle of their adult life. They are advised that lifelong learning will help them compete in an increasingly competitive workplace, but most lifelong learning programs focus little on the unique challenges and needs experienced by those navigating midlife. There is a gap in the educational landscape that presents an opportunity for established institutions of higher education and educational startups. Some universities as well as private enterprises have started developing curriculum in line with "long life learning." "Long life learning" focuses on developing a sense of purpose and personal well-being by understanding the positive aspects of aging congruent with established adult development theories to create more resilience through midlife transitions. These new programs foster communities of midlife peers who cultivate, harvest, and share wisdom with one another. As such, graduates of these programs may be better prepared to live lives that are as deep as they are long. Reviewing research on midlife development and featuring the efforts of pioneering institutions, this document provides a platform for thinking about "long life learning" that can catalyze universities, non-profits, and private institutions to develop new offerings that support individuals throughout midlife and prepare them for elderhood, much as public junior and senior high schools have done for adolescents about to enter adulthood.
Design Thinking Research, 2011
ABSTRACT As we manoeuvre through life we often try to predict other people’s behaviours and feeli... more ABSTRACT As we manoeuvre through life we often try to predict other people’s behaviours and feelings; sometimes even our own. A classical take on the matter is to refer to character traits. But there is another source of information we may tap for our predictions – highly relevant and still often overlooked: Knowledge of where the person is. At what place? In which context? The article invites you on a journey of thinking about and exploring the marvellous impacts of places. We will start by visiting personality psychology, attending the quest of its professionals for ever-better behaviour predictions. Subsequently, we will witness an experiment on the importance of places – seeing how a place setup may propel forcefully, almost mercilessly towards innovations. We will then browse personality psychology and other fields in search of fast and easy ways to make sense of places: How are they going to affect us? Who are we going to be there? Finally, we will draw together what we have found and construct a scheme to analyse or design places – which, of course, needs to be put to the test...
Design Management Journal, 2014
Design Thinking Research, 2011
Proceedings of the 18th …, 2011
Although there is a great interest in user driven innovation, the IT industry still shows a stron... more Although there is a great interest in user driven innovation, the IT industry still shows a strong focus on technology driven innovation development. Understanding the perspective and social context of the user also is not part of a regular technical education. ...
Design creativity is one of the most relevant fields in design and innovation. To better understa... more Design creativity is one of the most relevant fields in design and innovation. To better understand the effectiveness and origin of it, this study draws attention to the question of how design creativ...
ispim.org
Future requirements on managers have broadly been discussed in literature, but yet research is st... more Future requirements on managers have broadly been discussed in literature, but yet research is still falling short stating requirements of education methods. Similar gaps turn out in the matter of transferring evolved skills from educational sector into business reality. ...
In Design Thinking, theory and practice are closely interconnected. The theory serves as a bluepr... more In Design Thinking, theory and practice are closely interconnected. The theory serves as a blueprint, guiding companies in general and design teams in particular through the design process. Given such a close interrelation of theory and practice, we argue that Design Thinking research needs to be set up in a particular way too. This setup ties in with Design Thinking process models: To attain ever more befitting design solutions, prototypes are supposed to be tested and refined. Correspondingly, Design Thinking research should help to test and refine theory elements of Design Thinking. Researchers may serve as “dialogue facilitators,” aiding the community of Design Thinkers to intensify their “dialogue” with empirical reality. To provide reliable data on issues of central concern, we have tested experimentally two widely held convictions in the field of Design Thinking: (1) Multidisciplinary teams produce more innovate design solutions than monodisciplinary teams. (2) Teams trained in Design Thinking (by the D-School) produce more innovative solutions than untrained teams. In addition, degrees of communication problems were assessed. While both “multidisciplinarity” and “D-School training” have been associated with more unusual design solutions, with respect to utility a different picture emerged. Thus, hotspots have been identified that may stimulate some productive refinements of Design Thinking theory.