Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the engine of economic
growth and job creation. Governments have devoted considerable
resources to increase their competitiveness in the market. Several design
support programmes (DSPs) have emerged from this investment to
promote design as a strategic resource for innovation and business
growth. Although existing research indicates that an effective use of
design can enhance the business performance, a lack of interest amongst
SMEs to work with designers is cited in several studies. Despite the great
amount of money, energy and time that has been spent on design support
for SMEs, there is still a lack of knowledge about effective delivery and
evaluation.
This thesis focuses on the problem of finding better ways to assist SMEs
with design for economic growth by evaluating the effectiveness of design
support for SMEs. This research, therefore, has examined the activities of
UK-based DSPs, investigated the expertise of design consultancies and
inquired about the self-image of designers in order to expand the
knowledge of design support for SMEs.
The research applied an interpretive paradigm, where multiple realities
are recognised as socially constructed. Data was gathered through
interviews with individuals representing DSPs, SMEs, design consultancies
and government support agencies assisting SMEs. Observation of business
support events and publicly available documents were used as additional
sources. A thematic analysis and a systematic metaphor analysis were
employed to examine the resulting data.
The research has highlighted a number of key issues that are pivotal to
the success of design support for SMEs. This PhD research also proposes
two explanatory frameworks to contribute to design theory and practice: a
seven-step evaluation framework for planning and evaluating the
outcomes of DSPs and a re-framing of the generalist-specialist dilemma
that can inform the activities of design consultancies and DSPs and can
guide designers to improve their expertise.IDEAS Institute, Robert Gordon Universit