Management as a design practice: a multi-case study on designing value co-creation mechanisms

Management and organisation researchers argue that the development of management as a design science could address the long-standing debate regarding the relevance of management research to practice. Advocates of this view emphasise the necessity of prescription-driven research within the field. Drawing inspiration from design and design thinking research, this paper argues that most management and organisation design challenges are wicked problems, necessitating the involvement of multiple stakeholders in the problem-solving process, while recognising the limitations of prescriptive knowledge. To solve these problems, it is essential for managers to adopt the role of pragmatic designers or problem-solvers. Consequently, this paper proposes that management should be examined as a design practice to bridge the gap between research and practice. Through a multi-case study of the managerial task of designing value co-creation mechanisms, this paper explores three dimensions of managers’ design activities: managers as designers, managing as designing and organisation design. The objectives are to explore the roles of managers in designing value co-creation mechanisms and to develop a framework that supports relevant design practices. The findings highlight the importance of studying management as a design practice, thereby extending current discussions on the development of management as a design science and the application of design thinking within management practice.