Industrial design and digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises

Purpose Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a significant component of economic and social development, but their digital transformation (DT) process has encountered tremendous obstacles. This study aims to apply the core idea of empowerment theory and explore the influencing mechanism of industrial design empowering DT of SMEs from internal industrial design (IID) and external industrial design (EID) dimensions. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study were collected based on a comprehensive questionnaire that was distributed to 470 manufacturing-focused SMEs located in China, and the questionnaire survey was primarily disseminated by the SME Bureau and the Industrial Culture Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The empirical analysis was conducted using regression analysis and the bootstrap method. Findings The results are demonstrated as the following. First, EID has a higher positive impact on the DT of SMEs than IID, and the design innovation effect (DIE), resource allocation effect (RAE) and market expansion effect (MEE) all have mediating effects. Second, the impact of IID on DT is realized through DIE and MEE, while the impact of EID on DT is mostly reflected through the direct effect. Third, IID and EID have negative interaction effects on DT and resource “depletion” occurs when both internal and external industrial design activities are carried out simultaneously. Originality/value This study clarifies the specific influencing mechanism of industrial design on DT of SMEs from both internal and external perspectives and provides a reference for SMEs to overcome DT barriers with the help of industrial design tools.