research methodology

The 2020 report relies on visions and insights provided by more than 400 Design Thinkers around the world. Based on a scientific questionnaire, it provides a international overview of the frameworks, practices and tools applied by leading Consulting Organizations

research approach

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND TOOLS

The label “Consulting Organizations” includes all those players that provide Design Thinking services, such as design studios, digital agencies, strategic consulting organizations, and technology developers at a global level. To do so, fruitful collaborations between six universities have been: Politecnico di Milano (Italy), Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), Imperial College Business School (United Kingdom), Reykjavik University (Iceland),  Stockholm School of Economics (Sweden) and College of William & Mary – Raymond A. Mason School of Business (USA). In addition to the overall investigation of several aspects of Design Thinking practices, the goal of this research line is to attain useful insights on three main topics: (1) Measure the adoption and the value generated by different Design Thinking approaches; (2) Identification of how the application of Design Thinking can unfold the value of opportunities provided by digital technologies; (3) Analysis of the interplay between 4 kinds of Design Thinking and innovative projects based on digital technologies.

questionnaire

DATA COLLECTING

Aiming to collect a significant amount of qualitative and quantitative data from the Consulting Organizations operating in different countries, the research team designed an extensive questionnaire structured in eleven main sections: Introduction, Profile, Organization of Design, Thinking project, Goals of the Design Thinking project, Practices adopted in the Design Thinking project, Results achieved by the Design Thinking project, Classification of Design Thinking project, Revenues from Consulting Projects based on Design Thinking, Market of Consulting Project based on Design Thinking, Digital Technologies as tools of Design Thinking Closing. The questionnaire is composed of different typologies of questions that on average took respondents 30 minutes to complete. The overall structure of the questionnaire consists in two introductory sections, five sections referring to consulting projects based on Design Thinking that the respondents completed in 2019 and which they were familiar with, two sections focusing on the portfolio of all consulting projects based on Design Thinking completed by the units the respondents are a member of, one section exploring the role that Digital Technologies can play in supporting the development of Design Thinking projects, and one final section dedicated to conclusions.

sample

RESPONSES

The questionnaire was distributed by the six research partners in their respective countries. The data collection, lasting from November 2019 until February 2020, gathered more than 400 responses from consulting organizations. In terms of consulting organizations, the average number of employees in 2019 was 334.6. Nevertheless, the organizations’ size varies considerably among different countries, counting 401.9 employees in Italy, 310.7 in the Netherlands, 225.6 in Sweden, and 250.5 in the UK. The average revenues obtained by the organizations in 2019 were equal to 225.2 million €, but they significantly differ by individual countries: 269.1 million € in Italy, 215.1 million € in the Netherlands, 154.2 million € in Sweden, and 110.7 million € in the UK.

download the dt4b 2020 report

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dt4b report 2020 collects insights on three main topics: measure the adoption and the value generated by different Design Thinking approaches; identify how the application of Design Thinking can unfold the value of opportunities provided by digital technologies and analyze the interplay between 4 kinds of Design Thinking (Creative Problem Solving, Sprint Execution, Creative Confidence, Innovation of Meaning) and innovative projects based on digital technologies.

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