a multiple case study

21st DMI: Academic Design Management Conference Next Wave London, UK, 1-2 August, 2018



From use to focus on industrial design management in manufacturing SMEs: a multiple case study Juan Carlos MÁRQUEZ CAÑIZARES a a

Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Mexico The present investigation addresses the difference that can be identified between simply using industrial design and focusing it like a core competence, for which the peculiarities of 18 manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the central region of Venezuela, were analysed. To achieve this result, an investigation of the status of the situation was done with the purpose of establishing a theoretical framework as basis. Following a qualitative approach, subsequently the phenomenon under study was identified and an initial response to this approach was obtained, leading to the selection of the method of semi-structured interviews. The result of these interviews, and the triangulation process with other data, allowed to create an exploratory case of studies. For the data analysis it was used the Atlas.ti software, which allowed the generation of categories as well as coding and grouping concepts based on similarities. As a result, after a selective comparison of propositions, a Grounded Theory represented by an explanatory model was established, which describes the process followed by SMEs to exploit the dynamic capabilities that arise from using industrial design, as well as to focus on products, processes and the market. The model developed in this research is divided into three levels namely: definition, strategy and design process. Keywords: SMEs; strategy; design management





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Introduction Over the years, companies have assumed different approaches when incorporating industrial design because on the one hand, they must define the activities that the designer will perform, and on the other hand, they must consider the way in which this will be implemented in the organizational structure of the company. This is due to the particularities that the profile of the designer has acquired and the importance it can have for the company. However, there are approaches, such as Perks, Cooper & Jones’ (2005), which somehow combine the activities of the designer with the method of incorporation in the company; this is how we have the design as a functional specialization, in which the design is considered as an element within a set and as part of a process; the design (or designer) is integrated into a multifunctional team in which each member of the team has a similar value, and the result is due to the synergy of teamwork and is used as a guide for the process of product innovation where design is the one that directs the actions. Each decision revolves around the values and principles of design. This is how this design participation simultaneously adheres to the level of design penetration in the company, which goes from less to more, and considers the importance that this can have on the organizational structure and strategic vision. Another interesting approach is proposed by Claudia Acklin & Hans Kaspar (2007), in which they suggest the existence of three levels or areas in which the design can be present within the company and which constitute the main ways of incorporation. The levels include several features: • At the level of corporate strategy, the incorporation is achieved through design planning after research and analysis of the market and user/consumer needs, either by qualitative or quantitative methods. • At the level of corporate culture, in which the attitude toward design can be built through the awareness of design strengths as a strategic resource, the incorporation of design professionals is achieved within certain areas of the company. • At the level of new product development, design managers can include design competencies in the first phases of the project plan and manage the interface with other departments, such as marketing, production, sales, etc. In the development of new products, which for many years has been an area in which design has had a preponderant role, Escorsa, Herbolzheimer & Sole (1995) proposed five ways to incorporate the design: • The company hires the ideas or style of a designer, and the internal team of technicians develops the new product based on external contributions. • The company hires the designer to define the aesthetic aspects or the shells of the products that have been previously developed by the company. • The company hires the designer at the end of the design process of the new product to correct inadequacies generated in the previous internal development. • Integration of the design in the process of product development from its initial phase. • Integration of some external specialists from an office or design studio in the internal team of the company. The five previous forms of incorporating the design for the development of new products focused mainly on the knowledge company managers had about the function that the design could play, since, in any of the cases, it is still a very reduced vision of the contributions that the design can make, considering the proposal of Borja (2006) about "The Four Powers of Design." In the case of Venezuela, Marquez (2011) proposes, based on research done in different manufacturing companies, the existence of four forms of implementation of the design: • Companies that acknowledge the strengths of an industrial designer decide to incorporate a designer into the decision making of different departments. • Companies that decide to create a design department per se provide solutions to issues exclusively in that field. • Companies that assign industrial design as a complementary role are unable to understand the contributions of this discipline. • Companies that, understanding how they can benefit from industrial design, hire a designer regularly as a consultant.



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Likewise, it is pertinent to mention the study by the German designer and teacher Gui Bonsiepe (1999) based on the conceptions businessmen have of industrial designers. In this case, it raises the existence of four concepts or stereotypes, namely: • The conception of the designer as the "firefighter of emergencies" who is approached when nothing can be done or advancement within the project is impossible. • The misconception of the designer as one who makes the final touches, intervening only in the last phase of the development of a product or when most of the decisions have already been made. • The conception of industrial design as onerous and therefore viewed as something more linked to a cost structure than an investment scheme. • The design as an activity limited to drawing whose potential or possible contribution is obviously undervalued. In some way, the previous approaches show how complex it can be for companies to incorporate design (beyond the importance this may have according to their interests and knowledge), so there are a series of management models with different viewpoints on what this implies (Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Industrial de Argentina, 2011), suggesting, on the other hand, that the incorporation of the design represents a particular way each company manages the design (Ivanez, 2000), and this is how the generation of a model that explains the incorporation of design in the company, and allows it to exploit its potential, is becoming increasingly necessary in an era where competitiveness is a key factor for subsistence.

Methodology

Given the characteristics of the phenomenon under analysis and the lack of formal documentation in the Venezuelan context, the research was conducted under a qualitative approach (Strauss & Corbin, 2002). A review and deeper analysis of literature was performed (Strauss & Corbin, 2002), which enabled the development of a theoretical framework and allowed the comprehension of other approaches that have studied similar phenomenon or another context (Kim & Kang, 2008; Hevner et al., 2004). Additionally, this method encouraged the learning of different methods or ways to address the approach and included the collection and analysis of data (Hernandez, Fernandez & Baptista, 2010). The literature review allowed us to select a model that would serve as a framework of reference for structuring the data collection instrument and guide other aspects related to the subject of research (Yin, 2003) without constraining the same approach (Strauss & Corbin, 2002). The selection of the sample was based on the existence of the phenomenon that occurs in manufacturing companies of finished products that use the services of industrial design. The sampling method of standard cases was chosen. Certain criteria were applied in the selection: (i) They were Small and Medium Enterprises (according to Venezuelan law) of manufacturing finished products. (ii) They were companies that use or have used the services of industrial design. (iii) They were located in the geographical area where the largest concentration of companies with similar characteristics were settled. The sample included 18 companies. Due to the nature of the phenomenon under analysis, a semi-structured interview (Iduarte & Zarza, 2010; Marquez et al., 2012) was used. For the design of the interview protocol, a management model design was considered, proposed by Montana and Moll (2008). The interview was conducted with a manager or the owner of each company, considering that they were the most informed to explain the phenomenon analysed in this paper (Iduarte & Zarza, 2010; Marquez et al., 2012). During the interview process, notes were simultaneously taken regarding aspects that caught the attention of the researcher and which contained new information about the phenomenon and served immediate reference to the generation of grounded theory (Eisenhardt, 1989). In this sense, and following the recommendations of Yin (2003), a multiple-case study approach of exploratory nature was chosen since it adapts to the nature of the investigation and is appropriate, considering that the results seek to answer the questions of “how?” and “why?” It also allows inquiry about a contemporary phenomenon (Eisenhardt, 1989) and its participants in a real environment (Lee et al., 2009; Montiel, 2012). For the construction of cases, a Triangulation Technique of the different sources of information was also used (key informants, literature review, websites of the companies, etc.). For data analysis, an open coding process was followed (Strauss & Corbin, 2002). In this process, segments were analysed to extract concepts. At the same time, other segments were compared to establish similarities and differences; this was defined by Hernandez et al. (2010) as “constant comparison” since it is done throughout the open coding process. The differences between segments helped define the dimensions of the concepts, and the similarities allowed the establishment of categories and properties (Strauss & Corbin, 2002).

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Defined categories were considered as codes (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The “constant unit” was defined (segments or elements of content present in the whole sample and on which the comparison is made). After reviewing the data and consolidating the categories, it was determined that the most appropriate constant units were “text lines,” considering that written information was being analyzed (Hernandez et al., 2010). Once the coding and the unit of analysis (constant) were defined, the information was loaded to the software ALTAS.ti®. The information was grouped into categories, thus leading to the analysis phase, which took place (under a constant comparison process) separately from these large blocks of information to extract and define the concepts (Aramand & Vallieri, 2012). With this new segmentation or encryption units, we were able to, at the same time, set the frequency with which each concept was present in the cases. The frequency allowed us to define which concepts were prevailing or had preponderant place, in addition to identifying in which cases each concept was present, thus establishing patterns that would reach the Selective Coding (Strauss & Corbin, 2002). Once the concepts were categorized, the frequency and prevalence of these categories in the cases were determined. Holistically, Figure 1 outlines the sequence of steps that the data analysis process followed, which, despite not being applied with the same rigor for all categories, does allow graphic description of the process. The construction of the model starts with the analysis of similarities (or coincidences) of cases (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Montiel, 2012; Serrano & Villalobos, 2006) under what is called Selective Coding (Hernandez et al., 2010). In other words, the selection of the concepts that have been most frequent, and which explain with more detail the situation analysed, return to the units of analysis or segments. From these similarities, propositions arise that support each part of the theoretical model as well as underlying theories that arise from the comparison. In this scheme, a description of the findings (which often includes the exact phrases of the cases), an explanation or interpretation of the same, and finally, the relationships that emerged among them are organized under a few sections that allow a clearer discussion of the theoretical proposal. As a culmination of the process, the proposed model was subjected to analysis by three businessmen. The proposal was sent by e-mail and then they were interviewed using Skype®, a program which facilitates calls and video calls over the Internet. In these feedback sessions, the proposal was explained, and the entrepreneurs expressed their general and specific views of the model openly and without conditions, which was a very important activity for the validation of the grounded theory.



Figure 1 General diagram of the data analysis process



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Results

To illustrate the correlation of the analysis in this section, Table 1 portrays the cases that were used for the research, which are numbered and described. This table presents a general description of each case (according to different aspects that allowed the interpretation of the results) that not only references the number that identifies each case, but also determines how each company influences their response, thus extending the depth of the analysis.

Importance of Design for the Company

The cases analyzed have shown a series of approaches on how to address the conception of design and how important it can affect the company. In this regard, it should be mentioned that the majority of the design represents an element with unique characteristics, since it forms part of the identity of the company (as in Cases 4, 7, 9 and 17), which claim to be "design companies" in the first place. There are also cases that, although it is not part of their identity, identify the design as an element around which other activities of the company are developed (Cases 2, 12 and 18): that is, as an "activity axis." Under this dynamic, Cases 1, 4, 10, 17 and 18 give the design a different value by integrating it with other areas directly and assigning support activities to the commercial and production, which allow them to identify the design as a "tool" used by the company where it’s been deemed necessary. It should be noted that Cases 4, 7, 9, 17 and 18 use the design services since the creation of companies under Innate Model (Borja, 2003), and it is something that they have been developing and deepening with experience, and good results in terms of growth and market share, placing the design in a role of "competitive advantage." Based on the role played by design with respect to differentiation, three main approaches managed by companies could be observed. One approach could be defined as focus towards the products (Cases 1, 5, 11, 14 and 17); another approach would be towards production (Cases 6, 9 and 15); and the last approach would be focused on the market (Cases 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16 and 18), which is where the differentiation should be perceived more clearly and can become a sustainable competitive differential advantage. When comparing this series of approaches that companies handle with design as a differentiator (towards the product, production or market), and with their conceptions of design in mind, it is evident that they not only have different conceptions of the design but also of what the design does for them: that is, despite using it constantly for different activities or with different roles, they do not finish using it properly or taking advantage of all their competences. Based on the number of things that involve the design for many of these companies, it is proper to consider this as a Core Competence since it represents a set of internal skills, processes and knowledge that in turn combines different resources (Borja and Young, 2009). From this point of view, it can be said that Cases 2, 4, 7, 12, 14, 16 and 18, which were those that pointed to design as one of its main strengths or as an axis activity, would be implicitly referring to the design as a Core Competence.

Design and Strategic Planning





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Table 1 Case list Case

General description

1

Manufacture of scaffolding and shelves

2

Manufacture of chairs and office and home furniture

3

4

5

Design and manufacture of school furniture and office equipment Design and manufacture of custom and serial exhibition stands Design and manufacture of children's furniture for the home

6

Design and manufacture of furniture Ready to Assembly (R.T.A.)

7

Design and manufacture of material for the point of purchase of products

8

Design and manufacture of modular furniture for the home

9

Design and manufacture of standard and custom lighting systems

10

Design and manufacture of furniture for home R.T.A.

11

Manufacture and assembly

Products manufactured by the company Shelves, kit and equipment for housing construction. Chairs, filing cabinets, bookcases, conference tables, receptions and desks, entertainment centers, kitchens and tables.

Quantity of products 12

How to incorporate design

Most important production processes Metalworking Internal and development electrostatic department painting

45

Consulting with external designers, and by projects

Metalworking, machining wood, paint, PUR injection

Archives, libraries, desks, tables and modular systems

22

Internal design & development department

Metalworking CNC, CNC woodworking, painting

Exhibition stands, merchandi-sing furniture and stage sets.

15

Internal design department

Wood machining, welding, painting in oven

Bedroom furniture, cots and bed-cots

11

Full-time designer

CNC Woodworking

33

Internal design department

CNC woodworking, and automation

42

Internal design department

Thermoforming, blacksmithing, and woodworking CNC

27

Full-time designer

CNC Woodworking

220

Internal design department

Metalworking, electrostatic painting, comprising

54

Internal design department

CNC woodworking, and automation

9

Internal design &

Metalworking, fiberglass

Furniture, libraries, bedcot, chiffonier, cribs, games room, desks, bunk bed and chairs Floor displays, counter displays, tray gun towers, gondolas, shelves, pennants Modular kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchen accessories Commercial lighting, outdoor, led, table, wall, standing, ceiling and spotline. Bookcases, tables, entertainment centers, closets, desks, tables, etc. Body and parts of military vehicles



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From use to focus on industrial design management in manufacturing SMEs: a multiple case study

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

of military vehicles Design, manufacture and marketing of youth and children's furniture Manufacture of home furnishings and decorative coating Design and manufacture of furniture and equipment for beauty centers Production of small boats with inflatable parts Design and manufacture of custom and standard sport boats Design and manufacture of custom and serial exhibition stands Design and manufacture of material for the point of purchase of products

development molding, department upholstery Bunk beds, games room, beds, closets

23

Internal design department

CNC Woodworking

Modular structures, elements for closets, coatings

11

Internal design department

Machining wood and ironwork

129

Company hiring external design project

Upholstery, metalworking, thermoforming, machining Wood

Rowers, boats and light boats

27

Fiberglass Internal molding, paint design & oven, and development making department Neoprene

Sport boats and fishing boats

16

Internal design & development department

Fiberglass molding, ironwork, painting in oven

35

Internal design department

Wood machining, welding, painting, and laser cutting

Internal design department

Wood processing, metalworking, laser cutting, thermoforming, and painting

Chairs, combers, benches, couches, lamps, assistant’s carts, shampoo basins and tables

Exhibition stands Floor displays, islands, counter displays, tray gun towers, gondolas, gondola tip, shelves, pennants and break-traffic

68



First, it was determined if the design was mentioned in the company's description (in the mission and in the vision) to check if it was considered in the strategic planning. From the point of view of the self-definition of the company, only Cases 2, 11, 13, 14 and 15 do not mention the design while the rest of the cases do; however, Cases 3, 7, 9, 12 and 18 are particularly emphatic, as they are defined first as design companies. Regarding the mission statement, the design is present in Cases 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 16, 17 and 18, and in the vision statement, the design is mentioned in Cases 3, 7 and 18. This allows exposure to, from a point of view, the importance of design in strategic planning, resulting in the most notorious and valuable research as found in 13 cases. In their company descriptions, half of the cases consider design in their missions (Collis and Rukstad, 2008, David, 2005), highlighting the value that the design has for them. In a less favorable sense, only three companies consider design in the vision statement, which leaves an uncertain picture of how design could participate in what the company wants to become, which is basically what the vision refers to (Collis and Rukstad, 2008, David, 2005).

Strategic Actions

Based on the analysis of the cases, some actions the companies have taken to improve their competitive position can be established, so they could be considered as strategic. In this regard, a first group of actions is established that are oriented towards the company's products, which highlights the interests of Cases 3, 4, 7, 9, 14, 16 and 18. On the other hand, Cases 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 and 18 have opted to increase the variety of their

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products from the functional point of view (different products for different functions) and from the point of view of market segmentation (products that fulfill the same function but vary according to the segment to which it is addressed), which has allowed them to increase the offer taking advantage of the resources they have. Another point that companies have insisted on is the need to compete with the price of products (which is related to the generic strategies proposed by Michael Porter, 1993). In this regard, Cases 1, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 14 have tried to reduce costs with the standardization of parts and with an adequate configuration of the products that allows a maximum use of the raw material without neglecting an adequate value and price. With regard to the management of the processes, actions such as the outsourcing of some activities stand out, thanks to a strong relationship with suppliers or related companies (Cases 11, 12, 13, 14 and 18). In a sense opposed to outsourcing, other important actions have been acquisitions or vertical integration (which have affected Cases 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 and 17) to ensure greater control over processes and increase their capacity to offer a complete cycle of activities related to design and manufacturing. It is important to mention the actions that have to do with the structure of the organization, since the companies have implemented structures such as internal contracting (Cases 3, 7, 11 and 17) or by departments, as well as geographically separating the activities and developing systems of supply or communication sufficiently expeditious (Cases 4, 7, 9, 11, 12 and 17). On the other hand, Cases 1, 3, 8, 12 and 13 have chosen to structure an organization by lines or business units, which generates a series of particularities that affect the organization and the competitiveness of the company. Finally, it is important to point out the actions that have to do with defining a position or "philosophy" about the activities or about the general dynamics of the company. In this regard, it stands out from Cases 3, 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16 and 18, which always seek to be offensive towards the market: that is, to be "proactive" and proponents of products before the competition, which places them in a privileged position over their rivals. Another interesting position is that which has to do with investment and continuous improvement, through which Cases 3, 7, 10, 12, 15, 16 and 18 have paid special attention and made important efforts so that this dynamic is maintained: mainly in regards to design and the productive processes.

Competitive Advantage Through Design

As mentioned earlier, the importance of design through participation is the element through which companies achieve a more favorable competitive position. That they can sustain for more time is well known. According to the research, certain punctual contributions can be highlighted: improvement in the quality of their products (Cases 2, 4, 14, 15 and 17), increase in the variety of models (Cases 5, 6, 9, 10, 14 and 16), greater novelty (Cases 2, 3, 11 , 12, 14 and 16), integral solutions to customers and greater customer satisfaction (Cases 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 14 and 18), better aesthetics (Cases 2, 3, 5, 6, 9 and 14 ), increase of the portfolio of products (Case 2, 3, 9 and 10), and improvement in ergonomics (Cases 2, 3, 11, 12, 15 and 16), which translates into added value and a differentiation of the competition. As can be seen, the design represents a number of attributes for the products of the companies, and in many cases, it is difficult to distinguish which contribution is the most significant or the magnitude of each of these in the competitive advantage.

Design Process Management

A key element in the management of the design is the trigger or activator that gives birth to the participation of the design, whether it is for the development of a product or for other activities as suggested by Acklin and Kaspar (2007). In this regard, one of the main reasons, as described in Cases 4, 7, 9, 11, 16, 17 and 18, is the direct request of a client. This does not mean that all projects are for new customers. On the other hand, there are companies that have a sales department, as it occurs in Cases 3, 4, 5 and 8, and this has a positive impact on the frequency of projects. Another important reason for several of the cases, and which triggered the process of design, is the request or need of consumers. This situation occurs in Cases 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 12. Based on these approaches, they decided to develop new products or make changes to existing ones. However, this dynamic for businesses means implementing procedures or techniques that allow an effective collection and interpretation of consumer requirements. Cases 1, 2, 10 and 11 pointed this out as one of the main reasons to activate a design process based on management concerns.

Implementation

Once the company has decided to start the project, all cases agreed that the immediate activity to fulfill was the preparation of the briefing and, when already defined (Iduarte and Zarza, 2010; Lacruz-Rengel, 2008; Onzi et al.,

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2009), what could be called the creative stage or the generation of ideas. At this stage, the procedural or methodological particularities that have been implemented in the companies come to light. In the creative phase and generation of ideas, two activities stand out that can be considered for support: (i) the management of information and (ii) the approval, both of which facilitate and allow the selection of the final design.

Relationship of Design with Other Areas and Activities of the Company

In the majority of companies, designers are related to the area or the department of production, which is not strange due to the nature of the activities carried out and the close relationship that exists between both. Another area with which the design relates is marketing. Cases 5, 6, 10, 12, 14 and 16 were particularly interested in describing these areas (marketing and design) and having them work dependently. As “closely related to the design part,” Cases 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16 and 18 mentioned the part of sales. These areas communicate constantly to make queries or share information about projects and clients.

Risk Mitigation

In this regard, three groups of activities can be distinguished. In the first group, there are those that can be catalogued as control activities, through which the definition of “briefing” stands out: mainly in Cases 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17 and 18. Half of the companies (Cases 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15 and 18) stated clearly establishing procedures as part of their control activities, thus allowing them to track the development of projects and take the required corrective measures. Cases 1, 3, 5, 11, 13 and 15 justified their use of control activities through the pretense of obtaining certification or accreditation. Another activity that Cases 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 14, 17 and 18 considered to be of great value for the mitigation of risks is the participation of the directive board. It monitors the development of projects and takes steps to ensure that they reach a successful conclusion. A second group was comprised of approval activities, which sought a different perspective than control activities, ensuring the development of the projects with an emphasis on the validity of actions. In relation to this point, the participation of the client stands out, as in Cases 4, 7, 9, 11, 16, 17 and 18, not only to seek an agreement during the briefing, but also to provide the power to the client to give the go-ahead of the project in the stages of the generation of concepts, the final design and prototype. The participation of the directive in approval activities is also found. Finally, there is another group that is listed as assessment activities, since they seek to estimate and evaluate certain aspects of the projects, as well as an overview of the same. In this sense, the evaluation of the commercial feasibility stands out first, which passes through the relevance with the production processes of the enterprises: a point on which Cases 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15 and 16 make emphasis. Another activity of evaluation is the analysis of costs and profitability, on which all cases, without exception, evaluate the impact on the company if the project was carried out.

Conclusions

The results of the research have allowed the structuring of a sequence of actions tailored to the reality of the companies under study. Despite relating to proposals openly broadcasted through media, academics and professionals no longer offer new light on other variables that should be considered and which are used by enterprises. Additionally, research has revealed different strategic aspects of SMEs in manufacturing that are directly related to industrial design but which do not obey formulas or patterns previously established. On the contrary, they arise from the ingenuity of businessmen and their interest in maintaining activity in their companies in the face of environmental “turbulence” or simply by the changes imposed by the economy. In this sense, the magnitude of this research has generated a considerable number of propositions, but beyond that, the particularities of each is a viable proposal of how these can be integrated to generate a model (see Figure 2) that allows the understanding of all statements as part of an interconnected process. In this sense, three levels can be established within a collection of grouped categories. In the first level (called Definition), the conceptions that companies have about industrial design and how to use it are present. Within these frameworks, there are three options: activity axis, generic tool and competitive advantage. In this definition of design, the participation that the design has in the company or the approach from the point of view of differentiation, which can be towards the products, towards the processes or towards the market, are also considered.

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In a second level (called Strategy), we find, first of all, the description that companies make about themselves and their mission and vision. In this sense, the design is included in the self-definition, becoming the main element, but it loses relevance in the mission statement and is almost non-existent in the vision. At this level, strategic actions related to products also stand out, involving the degree of novelty, exclusivity, variety, standardization of parts and the Old Products Development. Another group of strategic actions are directed towards the productive processes and involve the acquisition of machinery with state-of-the-art technology, the diversification of processes, efficiency and specialization. In the management of processes, outsourcing and vertical integration are found. The last group of actions have to do with the organization; in this respect, alliances are made with other companies, the work is internally contracted and the company is structured by business units. Of these actions, companies use combinations according to what they consider convenient, which turns the strategy into a mix of activities. At this same level (Strategy), design is also considered part of the company's competitive advantage. In a third level called the Design Process, projects that lead to the design of a product are established first (within which are a client’s request), the demands of the market are addressed and then the concerns of management according to the needs of the company and their own portfolio. All triggers must conclude with the generation of a briefing, with which a stage of execution is initiated. With the definition of briefing, the creative stage of the process begins. The last stage of this process is manufacturing, in which the designers involved verify that the production processes are developing as they are defined for the product and under the expected quality standards. However, this step sequence is not a methodology nor a rigid structure, but a flexible or adjustable one according to the project and under the particularities of each company, considering its amassed experience. The design process and the activities of the designers involve a relationship with other areas of the company. Among them, the production segment stands out for the obvious reason that designed objects must be produced or manufactured. Another area of great value is that of marketing as a source of information for projects and adaptation of products for marketing. Finally, the area of sales is a source (trigger) of product design projects. In general, these areas actively participate during the process of product design with contributions from their more important competitions and in relation to the general mission of the project.



Figure 2 Proposed model in this investigation



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From use to focus on industrial design management in manufacturing SMEs: a multiple case study

Among the activities to mitigate the risk developed by companies, control activities stand out; the control of the necessary and contemplated activities during the development of the design project; control of the manufacturing process to fulfill (in time) with the client or the programming; control of the quality of products to fulfill clients’ or a consumer’s expectations; and personal control of the tasks on the company’s directive part. Another group of activities is those of approval, within which are the activities that the client conducts in different phases or moments of the process. The activity that the directive board initiates so that the project is carried out or advances appropriately also stands out. Additionally, a group of evaluation activities seeking to estimate the commercial feasibility of the product, the associated costs and profitability that can be generated are noted. Finally, the model resulting from this research allows us to interpret a series of activities, which together become a complex process that had not been analysed with such depth in the selected context, so each of the proposals represents a key that allows us to understand the magnitude of the different parts of the model. However, the relationship that each of the propositions has suggested has allowed us to string together a coherent structure, clearly supported by the businessmen to whom the model was presented. The research has allowed us to define the fundamental aspects that intervene in the management of the industrial design within the managerial processes when this is focused. As evidenced, the proposed model identifies the level of definition, the role that the design fulfilled through the strategic and organizational point of view and lays the foundations for another set of activities for the company. Acknowledgements: to Conacyt Mexico and the University of Los Andes (Venezuela) for the financial support to carry out this research. To Prof. Juan Carlos Cisneros Ortega for the advice. To all the businessmen who kindly collaborated

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