The role of design management as an integrating function in new product development : a model based on high tech companies operating in France.

The objective of this dissertation is to analyse the role of design management as an integrating function in new product development (NPD) for the high tech companies operating in France. The first part synthesises existing literature about NPD, high tech organisations, as well as about design. The aim, at this stage, was to gain knowledge about successful NPD and design management strategies. The second part provides a diagnosis of the situation. It is composed of three main studies. The first one is a case study concentrating on NPD in a high tech company, which enabled the researcher to have a concrete approach of the process used and raised issues that laid the foundation of the following exploratory quantitative phase. This survey constitutes the next stage of the primary data collection process, the purpose of which was to gain overall knowledge of the situation. It was completed by a second quantitative survey focusing on NPD and design management issues. These primary data lead to a diagnosis of the current situation which was evaluated against the key factors identified in the literature review. This comparison, based on soft systems methodology, provided guidance to analyse the actions to be taken for efficient design management strategy in high tech organisations and lead to the building of the final model. This model was eventually submitted to a sample of managers in order to ensure applicability in the business environment. In the final model, top management emerges as the main initiator of the design-oriented strategy and is responsible for implementing an independent design function which intervenes as a facilitator, a co-ordinator and a catalyst that increases cross-functional interfaces during NPD. By intervening in the early stages of the NPD process, design management allows a sharper definition of customers' expectations, reduces iterations and eventually enables the company to launch adapted solutions on the market place. Moreover, it helps to emphasise both product advantages and corporate identity which provides a decisive competitive advantage