The importance of design in business practices of czech companies

151 2, XVIII, 2015 DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2015-2-011 Ma ke ing & T ade In oduc ion As a esul o apid changes and a g owing compe i i eness o companies a p esen , design is becoming one o he key ins umen s o inno a ion and also he key ins umen o companies´ pe o mance [8], [1]. Fo he eason o ha ing p oduc s mo e and mo e echnically alike, i is he design ha is becoming an ins umen o compe i i eness as well as he c i e ion o decision making o fi nal consume s. Inno a ion by U abe, Child & Kagono [19] consis s o he gene a ion o a new idea and i s implemen a ion in o a new p oduc , p ocess, o se ice, leading o a c ea ion o pu e p ofi o he inno a i e business en e p ise. Design managemen is a e m o which he e is no clea -cu defi ni ion. Howe e , i is e iden ha his e m s ands o connec ing wo fi elds – design and managemen . Design by B uce & Bessan [3] is essen ially he applica ion o human c ea i i y o a pu pose – o c ea e p oduc s, se ices, buildings, o ganiza ions and en i onmen s which mee people’s needs. I is he sys ema ic ans o ma ion o ideas in o eali y. In he con ex o inno a ions, we a e able o speci y h ee in e p e a ions o he e m design [18]:  Design is a angible ou come.  Design is a c ea i e ac i i y.  Design is he p ocess by which in o ma ion is ans o med in o a angible ou come. Fai head [18] e e s o ou di e en le els o unde s anding o design:  Design is seen as “s yling”.  Design is abou be e p oduc s.  Design sha es he in e ace be ween company and audiences.  Design is in eg a ion: A whole p ocess. The connec ion o e ms design and co po a e is used by Vysekalo á & Mikeš [21]. In he poin o iew, he co po a e design is a pa o isual iden i y and i is a se o isual cons an s ha is used in in e nal and mainly ex e nal communica ion. I includes ollowing ac o s: name o he company and he way o i s p esen a ion, company logo, p oduc b ands, p omo ional i ems and p in ed ma e ials, sc ip and colou , s uc u e and nomencla u e o he buildings and in e io s, employees wea , con aine g aphics, gi i ems, e c. The g aphical image o hese componen s should be included in a so-called design manual. Design manual is a summa y o ules and ecommenda ions o p in ed and elec onic isual p esen a ions o he company, e.g. g aphical ules, layou o he documen s, ules conce ning usage o oun s, colou s, logo and i s a ia ions, company documen s, and he like. By he Ka h yn Bes [5], in he a ea o design managemen a wide a ie y o pe spec i es exis ha efl ec he ich a ay o indi iduals, p o essions and con ex in ol ed. Hollins [10] defi ne design managemen as he o ganisa ion o he p ocesses o de eloping new p oduc s and se ices. B uce & Bessan [3] iden i y undamen al issues o design managemen : a) How do pa icula pe spec i es fi in o he design p ocess and wha hey can b ing? b) How can design p o essionals suppo hese di e en con ibu ions? c) How olls/ echniques a e a ailable o help make his con ibu ion? d) How can e ec i eness o he design p ocess be measu ed? e) How can he p ocess be imp o ed? Acco ding o Design Managemen Ins i u e in Bos on [6] defi ni ion encompasses Design managemen he ongoing p ocesses, business decisions, and s a egies ha enable inno a ion and c ea e e ec i ely-designed p oduc s, THE IMPORTANCE OF DESIGN IN BUSINESS PRACTICES OF CZECH COMPANIES Jan K amoliš, Pa la S aňko á, Michal Rich EM_2_2015.indd 151EM_2_2015.indd 151 3.6.2015 13:09:083.6.2015 13:09:08 152 2015, XVIII, 2 Ma ke ing a obchod se ices, communica ions, en i onmen s, and b ands ha enhance ou quali y o li e and p o ide o ganiza ional success. On a deepe le el, design managemen seeks o link design, inno a ion, echnology, managemen and cus ome s o p o ide compe i i e ad an age ac oss he iple bo om line: economic, social/ cul u al, and en i onmen al ac o s. I is he a and science o empowe ing design o enhance collabo a ion and syne gy be ween “design” and “business” o imp o e design e ec i eness. The scope o design managemen anges om he ac ical managemen o co po a e design unc ions and design agencies, including design ope a ions, s a , me hods and p ocesses— o he s a egic ad ocacy o design ac oss he o ganiza ion as a key di e en ia o and d i e o o ganiza ional success. I includes he use o design hinking—o using design p ocesses o sol e gene al business p oblems. The e is a s ong link be ween ma ke ing and design managemen which men ioned Go b [7] and also Melewa , Dennis, Ken [13], and Adi & Pascu [2] p esen s in hei pape he impo ance o a logo as a g aphic elemen o suppo a co po a e iden i y. They desc ibed he basic idea: Tha he logo design is a c ea i e wo k which allows o a company o be seen h ough a symbol as a isual and g aphic message. Design o e s ou powe s o di ec ions h ough which o c ea e alue in managemen , and hese ou di ec ions can be seen as a sys em wi h he ision in he cen e acco ding o Mozo a [14], [15], [16]. The design alue model and i s applica ion h ough he Balanced Sco e Ca d oolki p o ide a common language o designe s and manage s and his can help he design p o ession e ec a change om p ojec -based o knowledge-based. 1. Theo e ical Backg ound Walke [22] deals wi h a specifi c fi eld o managemen . He p esen s he di e ences be ween manage s and designe s – see Tab. 1. The di e ences be ween he manage s and designe s a e mainly in he a ea o pe sonali y speciali ies, habi s o hinking and wo king, and educa ion backg ound. Cha ac e is ic Manage s Designe s Aims Long e m P ofi s/ e u n Su i al G ow h O ganiza ional du abili y Sho e m P oduc /se ice quali y Re o m P es ige Ca ee building Focus People Sys ems Things En i onmen Educa ion Accoun ancy Enginee ing Ve bal Nume ical G a s A Visual Geome ic Thinking s yle Se ialis Linea Analysis P oblem o ien ed Holis La e al Syn hesis Solu ion led Beha iou Pessimis ic Adap i e Op imis ic Inno a i e Cul u e Con o mi y Cau ious Di e si y Expe imen al Sou ce: [22] Tab. 1: Di e ences be ween manage s and designe s EM_2_2015.indd 152EM_2_2015.indd 152 3.6.2015 13:09:083.6.2015 13:09:08 153 2, XVIII, 2015 Ma ke ing & T ade Design managemen acco ding o Ka h yn Bes [5] includes h ee main phases: 1. Managing design s a egy – he aim is he iden ifi ca ion and looking o condi ions mos sui able o ha ing success ul design managemen . This includes mainly implemen a ion o design in o o ganiza ion s a egy, iden ifi ca ion o oppo uni ies o design, in e p e a ion o will and needs o he cus ome s, and looking o benefi s o design o business; 2. Managing design p ocess – i is he ealiza ion o design i sel and making i isible. I helps he o ganiza ion iden i y oppo uni ies o pa icula p ojec s concen a ing on design, making a c ea i e eam, isual communica ion o he o ganiza ion and p esen ing i s ideas ou wa d; 3. Managing design implemen a ion – his phase concen a es on pa icula p ojec managemen in p ac ice, design specifi ca ion, speci ying he le el o coope a ion and e hical esponsibili y. The e alua ion o he p ojec o ms an essen ial pa o he implemen a ion ha p o okes posi i e esponse ega ding design e fi ciency. Ve gan i [20] in oduces he e m design- d i en inno a ion. He also defi nes h ee phases ela ed o inno a ion managemen by means o design: a) lis ening, b) in e p e ing, c) add essing (see Fig. 1). In he fi s phase ‘lis ening’, he e is lis ening o he key g oups, i.e. in e p e e s. In e p e e s a e people who p edic u u e de elopmen o cus ome s’ needs by means o hei own esea ch. The aim o ‘lis ening’ is o fi nd he key g oups o in e p e e s and p edic benefi s o hei hough s o business. The main key g oups acco ding o Ve gan i [20] a e a is s, cul u al o ganiza ions, sociologis s, an h opologis s, ma ke e s, e ail and deli e y fi ms, people, designe s, fi ms in o he indus ies, de elope s o pionee ing p ojec s, echnology supplie s and esea ch and educa ional ins i u ions. The second phase is ‘in e p e ing’. I s pu pose wi hin he company is o c ea e such condi ions ha would p opose a mo ion. The o ganiza ion communica es wi h he in e p e e s and in eg a es hei ideas wi h echnology and possibili ies o he company. The hi d phase is ‘add essing’. This means making such condi ions o be able o inno a e, and o discuss he a ionali y and a ac ions o he change. Fig. 1: Phases ela ed o inno a ion managemen by means o design Sou ce: [20] EM_2_2015.indd 153EM_2_2015.indd 153 3.6.2015 13:09:083.6.2015 13:09:08 154 2015, XVIII, 2 Ma ke ing a obchod B uce & Bessan [3] also s a e he majo benefi s o design managemen :  Inc ease p ofi by inc easing sales o by dec easing manu ac u ing cos s.  Inc ease ma ke sha e.  Gain a compe i i e ad an age.  Re amp ma u e and ailing p oduc s.  P o ide a s a egy o g ow h.  Design is a way o launching a new p oduc o se ice. The UK Design Council ocuses on he con ibu ion made by design and p esen s mail esponses [3]:  91% el i imp o ed he image o hei company.  90% el i imp o ed quali y o hei p oduc s.  88% el i helped hem communica e mo e e ec i ely wi h hei cus ome s.  84% el i helped inc ease p ofi .  80% el i helped in o new ma ke s.  70% el i educed cos s. Mazo a [15] deals wi h opic Design as a compe i i e edge. Au ho measu es impac o design on p oduc , classi ying he easons o launching new p oduc s and he aci knowledge o design. This esea ch can be use ul o p o essional design manage s because i isola es a iables ha a e pe inen o explain how design ans o ms managemen p ocesses and which p ocess i changes. Acco ding o B uce & Coope & Vazquez [4] small companies ha e a ange o business needs o design, bu ha e a ying le els o awa eness and compe ency o manage design e ec i ely. Two di e en ypes o companies could be disce ned om he s udy: ‘confi den ’ and ‘app ehensi e’ design use s. The o me companies had had expe ience wi h design, ypically in p e ious wo k expe ience and he la e had li le awa eness o design. Fo he inexpe ienced design companies, a ious ac o s we e iden ifi ed ha assis ed he e ec i e design ou come: he ela i e simplici y o he p ojec , possession o s ong b iefi ng skills acqui ed in a di e en discipline, sou cing skills, such as pe sonal ecommenda ion o m a us ed in e media y, and e alua ion skills ob ained h ough an in e media y o acqui ed in a di e en discipline. 2. P oblem Fo mula ion The basic aim o esea ch is o in es iga e he impo ance o design in Czech companies om he managemen o businesses´ poin o iew. This pape also a emp s o analyse and iden i y he awa eness o companies o a ious sizes conce ning he impo ance o design. The emphasis is pu on he issues ela ed o he co ec a ge ing o such ac i i ies, which is closely ela ed o he impo ance o design wi hin companies. Finally, based on an analysis o he da a collec ed, he s udy shows he cu en si ua ion in Czech business. 2.1 Resea ch Me hods The esea ch consis s o wo main pa s. In he fi s pa o esea ch done om Janua y o Ma ch 2014, a me hod o sma in e ne ques ionnai es was used. I was designed by he au ho s o he pape based on he expe ience om hei p e ious esea ch. The p ima y aim was o in es iga e companies´ conce n o design in ela ion o o he ac o s. This was done by asking specifi c ques ions. The seconda y aim was o in es iga e companies´ conce n o he impo ance o design i sel . In he second pa o esea ch, he esul s we e analysed using quan ifi ca ion and by means o seeking a mu ual dependence. The ques ionnai e o m con ains 16 ques ions. The esponses we e di ided in o se e al ca ego ies wi h common ea u es. In o al 168 en ies collec ed om 305 add essed esponden s ook pa in he esea ch. The esul s ob ained we e subjec s o a s a is ical s udy. The esul s we e subjec s o c i ical assessmen and a syn hesis wi h al eady disco e ed and published da a (seconda y da a) was ca ied ou . The able below shows he occupa ional s uc u e o esponden s who pa icipa ed in he e- esea ch. The able abo e indica es ha B2B and B2C we e almos equally ep esen ed (53.5% and 46.5%) in he in es iga ed a ea. The ze o sha e in he esponden s uc u e is ep esen ed by B2G business. This means ha he majo sha e should jus ha e B2C and B2B sec o . Fi s ly, a lis o selec ed sui able subjec s was done. Then, his lis was sen o be fi lled in h ough he in e ne esea ch ques ionnai es. EM_2_2015.indd 154EM_2_2015.indd 154 3.6.2015 13:09:083.6.2015 13:09:08 155 2, XVIII, 2015 Ma ke ing & T ade Venn diag am isualisa ion was used o a be e illus a ion (see Fig. 2). I is e iden ha some companies ope a e in bo h fi elds, whe eas ce ain numbe o companies ope a es in one fi eld only. The Figu e 3 shows he sec o s s uc u e o esponden s, in which hey ope a e. The sample which has been used o he pu pose o his pape con ained 23% se ice esponden s, 15% ade esponden s, 10% building esponden s, 13% enginee ing esponden s, 4% ood indus y esponden s, 1% ex ile indus y esponden and 34% esponden s ha ope a e on he o he sec o s. ela i e (%) ma ke o ien a ion Subcon ac o 26.8 B2B 49.8% P oduce 30.1 Se ice p o ide 29.4 Me chan 13.7 ela i e (%) ma ke o ien a ion Subcon ac o 9.7 B2C 50.2% P oduce 33.8 Se ice p o ide 35.3 Me chan 21.1 Sou ce: own Tab. 2: Ta ge g oup cha ac e is ics Fig. 2: Venn diag am a ge g oup cha ac e is ics Sou ce: own EM_2_2015.indd 155EM_2_2015.indd 155 3.6.2015 13:09:083.6.2015 13:09:08 156 2015, XVIII, 2 Ma ke ing a obchod 3. P oblem Solu ions The cu en s a e o he impo ance o design in a business concep o Czech companies in subjec s examined on he Czech ma ke is cha ac e ized by he ollowing que ies. In he case o a majo i y consensus, he da a a e quan ifi ed by a ela i e indica o and supplemen ed by impo an fi ndings in he o m o a commen . In he case o agmen a ion o answe s, only he mos impo an fi ndings in he su eyed a ea a e lis ed. Based on he p oblem solu ion abo e, wo hypo heses we e es ablished. Hypo heses we e es ed on he le el o signifi cance o α = 0.05. The H1 hypo hesis was a subjec o he Pea son´s chi-squa ed 2 es o independence [12] o a con ingen able, using IBM SPSS S a is ics so wa e. P- alue and Excel XLS a is ics5 p og amme we e used o s a is ical e alua ion o he H2 hypo hesis. The alue o he es -s a is ic is 2 11 c ij ij ij ij OE xE    (1) 2 = Pea son’s cumula i e es s a is ic; Numbe o employees B2B only B2C only B2C and B2B (bo h only) Rela i e (%) 1–10 (Mic o) 9 18 1 16% 11–50 (Small) 10 11 8 17% 51–200 (Medium-sized) 15 15 6 22% 200 + (Huge/big) 31 22 22 45% Sou ce: own Tab. 3: Ta ge g oup cha ac e is ics: Business size dis ibu ion – Numbe o employees Fig. 3: Ta ge g oup cha ac e is ics: Ope a ing sec o s Sou ce: own EM_2_2015.indd 156EM_2_2015.indd 156 3.6.2015 13:09:083.6.2015 13:09:08 157 2, XVIII, 2015 Ma ke ing & T ade Oi = an obse ed equency in a gi en con ingency able; Ei = an expec ed ( heo e ical) equency, asse ed by he null hypo hesis; and c a e he numbe o ows and columns in he able, espec i ely. [9] Then a s anda d de ia ion was calcula ed. This enabled us o see up o wha ex en ypical cases a y wi hin he se o examined numbe s. 3.1 Design wi h Respec o he Ma ke Type Conce ning he e alua ion o design as one o he mos impo an ac o s in he company, he ollowing hypo heses we e defi ned. H1 0: Re e ing o he impo ance o design in ela ion o he success a e o he company he e is no di e ence be ween he companies ha ing business in B2B and B2C ma ke s. H1A: Re e ing o he impo ance o design in ela ion o he success a e o he company he e is di e ence be ween he companies ha ing business in B2B and B2C ma ke s. The fi gu e om abo e demons a es he impo ance o design wi hin he company acco ding o i s fi eld o business. I is e iden ha ac oss he spec um ‘ ai ly impo an ’ p e ails. Acco ding o hese numbe s, companies in B2B ma ke only a e awa e o a g ea impo ance o design. Sligh ly lowe numbe s a e eco ded wi hin companies in B2C ma ke . Companies ha ing business in B2B and a he same ime in B2C ma ke s ook las place. Ex eme numbe s a bo h poles, i.e. ‘ex emely impo an ’ and ‘comple ely unimpo an ’, a e e y a e. The nex pa ocuses on he impo ance o design om companies’ poin o iew. In he ollowing Pea son´s chi-squa e es o independence, he esea che s s i ed o e alua e he impo ance o design om companies’ poin o iew. The c i e ion o e alua ion conce ning he impo ance o his ac o consis ed o ou le els: ex emely impo an , ai ly impo an , no e y impo an , and comple ely unimpo an . Based on he hypo hesis when p- alue a 0.05 signifi cance le el was calcula ed wi h esul o 0.756443221, is his hypo hesis H0 ejec ed. I means ha we canno claim ha he e is no di e ence among he companies om B2B o B2C ma ke s wi h espec o he impo ance o design. Fig. 4: G aphical eco d o he e alua ion ega ding he impo ance o design om he pe spec i e o companies and hei business ac i i ies in he ma ke s Sou ce: own EM_2_2015.indd 157EM_2_2015.indd 157 3.6.2015 13:09:083.6.2015 13:09:08 158 2015, XVIII, 2 Ma ke ing a obchod F om he isual ep esen a ion o espec i e ac o s conce ning he impo ance o companies´ ac i i ies in he ma ke s, a simple spide g aph analysis was d awn up. The spide analysis includes c i e ia acco ding o which he companies conside he impo ance. These a e quali y, eliabili y, design and p ice. Low numbe s show insignifi can impo ance (1 – comple ely unimpo an ), whe eas high numbe s ep esen g ea impo ance (4 – ex emely impo an ). This efl ec s deg ees o impo ance conce ning he e alua ion o in e nal ac o s based on a well hough -ou indica o sys em. The ac o a ing enables us o answe he ollowing ques ions: ‘Wha a e he mos impo an ac o s wi hin companies?’ and ‘Wha is he si ua ion like ega ding he selec ed ac o wi hin a company?’ A s uc u e o he ac o - a ing model is o be ound in Figu e 5 below. Fo a mo e p ecise ep esen a ion o he measu ed esul s, he axis numbe s in he spide g aph we e adjus ed a numbe in e als 2.0 o 4.0. This spide cha ep esen s ha in he ma ke B2C only, quali y is he mos impo an ac o wi h he alue o 3.56, hen he e is eliabili y wi h he alue o 3.46, p ice wi h he alue o 3.20, and design wi h he lowes alue o 2.92. In he ma ke B2B only, quali y wi h he alue o 3.69 is he mos impo an ac o oge he wi h eliabili y wi h a e y simila alue o 3.68. The (Pea son) Chi-squa e Tes (Fo independence o impo ance o design and yp o ma ke H0: Va iables a e independen (no in e ac ion be ween a iables) H1: Va iables a e dependen (in e ac ion be ween a iables) Chi-squa e 3.405907985 DF 6 p- alue = 0.756443221 Sou ce: own Tab. 4: Sc eensho o H1 Chi-squa e Tes Fig. 5: Spide cha ega ding he impo ance o espec i e c i e ia Sou ce: own EM_2_2015.indd 158EM_2_2015.indd 158 3.6.2015 13:09:093.6.2015 13:09:09 159 2, XVIII, 2015 Ma ke ing & T ade ac o o p ice eached a lowe alue o 3.37 and design is again o lowes impo ance wi h he alue o 2.76. In he companies ha ha e hei business ac i i ies in B2B and B2C ma ke s, he si ua ion is almos iden ical. Quali y is again he mos impo an ac o wi h he alue o 3.77, hen eliabili y wi h he alue o 3.72. P ice is a he alue o 3.31 and design is again o he lowes impo ance wi h he alue o 2.92. 3.2 Design wi h Respec o he Company Size Fo he pu pose o esea ch concen a ing on he impo ance o design compa ed wi h he company size, he ollowing hypo heses we e defi ned. H20: Re e ing o he impo ance o design in ela ion o he success a e o he company he e is no di e ence among small, medium- sized and la ge businesses. H2A: Re e ing o he impo ance o design in ela ion o he success a e o he company he e is di e ence among small, medium-sized and la ge businesses. Conside ing he e alua ion o design i sel as one o he ac o s ha we e s a ed by he companies in he g aph abo e, we a e able o no e he ollowing. Small businesses wi h 1–10 employees and medium-sized businesses wi h 11–50 employees as well as la ge businesses wi h 51–200 employees a e o a e y simila opinion. Acco ding o hei opinion, he s a emen ha design is ela i ely impo an occu s mos o en. A small numbe o businesses conside design ex emely impo an , no e y impo an o comple ely unimpo an . A e y simila si ua ion is in la ge businesses wi h 201 employees and mo e when 50 businesses conside design ai ly impo an . The en y ‘ex emely impo an ’ is insignifi can and ‘no e y impo an ’ is o almos iden ical low alue as ‘ex emely impo an ’. Based on he hypo hesis when p- alue a 0.05 signifi cance le el was calcula ed wi h esul o 0.143148809, is his hypo hesis H0 ejec ed. I means ha we canno claim ha he e is no di e ence among he companies ega ding he dependence on numbe o employees and he a i ude owa ds he impo ance o design. Spide g aph analysis ega ding isual eco d o he e alua ion o espec i e c i e ia om he pe spec i e o companies´ size was made. Fig. 6: G aphical eco d o he e alua ion ega ding he impo ance o design om he pe spec i e o companies´ size Sou ce: own EM_2_2015.indd 159EM_2_2015.indd 159 3.6.2015 13:09:093.6.2015 13:09:09