The paper reports first results of an action-research project aimed at defining the potentialities in using design as strategic resource for SMEs’ global integration. In the actual socio-economic context, profoundly modified and dynamically changing, SMEs’ face strong difficulties in acting globally [1, 11, 16, 20]. Europe and Italy especially, as productive humus mainly made by these kind of industries, are nowadays looking for methods and models to strengthen their system and help SMEs achieve better results on a global market level. Italy in particular emerges as a very good context for testing those strategies, looking at these issues through the lenses of design and giving particular attention to the emerging collaborative dimension brought about by bottom-up organizational typologies (peer production mechanisms), rather than hierarchical [27, 28, 29, 31, 38]. Here the presented project was born, as part of a broader research path aimed at defining a possible design approach to SMEs global integration processes. The achieved results identify an innovative and experimental model (low-cost, low-impact, network-based) at the disposal of enterprises for their global integration, where designers become fundamental supporters. This professional, as strategic resource that works on building product-systems, nowadays can upgrade his contribution, promoting SMEs as well as suggesting innovative approaches to face the new global market. The final conclusion come out of the project are further discussed in the paper looking at a evolution in the role of professionals in general, toward a transformation into knots of complex nets, capable of bringing high added value in terms of relations and knowledge.
Design.INT.Design for SMEs’ global integration.
SIMONELLI, GIULIANO;ARQUILLA, VENANZIO;MORTATI, MARZIA
2009-01-01
Abstract
The paper reports first results of an action-research project aimed at defining the potentialities in using design as strategic resource for SMEs’ global integration. In the actual socio-economic context, profoundly modified and dynamically changing, SMEs’ face strong difficulties in acting globally [1, 11, 16, 20]. Europe and Italy especially, as productive humus mainly made by these kind of industries, are nowadays looking for methods and models to strengthen their system and help SMEs achieve better results on a global market level. Italy in particular emerges as a very good context for testing those strategies, looking at these issues through the lenses of design and giving particular attention to the emerging collaborative dimension brought about by bottom-up organizational typologies (peer production mechanisms), rather than hierarchical [27, 28, 29, 31, 38]. Here the presented project was born, as part of a broader research path aimed at defining a possible design approach to SMEs global integration processes. The achieved results identify an innovative and experimental model (low-cost, low-impact, network-based) at the disposal of enterprises for their global integration, where designers become fundamental supporters. This professional, as strategic resource that works on building product-systems, nowadays can upgrade his contribution, promoting SMEs as well as suggesting innovative approaches to face the new global market. The final conclusion come out of the project are further discussed in the paper looking at a evolution in the role of professionals in general, toward a transformation into knots of complex nets, capable of bringing high added value in terms of relations and knowledge.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
