Application of Design Thinking for Innovation in a Developing Country Perspective: Context Factors, Process, and Outcomes

By Joshua Simuka, Research Fellow, Postgraduate Unit-Strategy and Innovation Harare Institute of Technology, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The application of design thinking to promote innovation across a range of industries has become ubiquitous. Its prominence in theory and practice has led to a significant increase in the number of publications.

The author’s goal is to provide a research framework that both captures the state of the field and makes it possible to pinpoint research gaps.

The author carried out a thorough systematic literature review based on 80 academic articles in the field of design thinking in order to respond to research questions.

The framework proposed in this study highlights the stages of a typical design thinking process together with its guiding principles and tools, the individual and organizational outcomes of a design thinking project, and contextual elements related to both.

The author presents a comprehensive summary of the current state of research, in contrast to earlier studies that concentrated on specific facets of design thinking, such as its traits, the organisational culture as a contextual component, or its impact on new product creation.

The study adds to the body of literature by bringing the conversation about innovation and design thinking to organisations in developing countries such as Zimbabwe.

 

Keywords: Context factors, Design thinking, Innovation, organisational Outcomes, organisational culture, Systematic literature review.