The concept of design thinking (DT) has emerged in management debates as promising innovation inspired by the way designers work. Despite the growing interest in DT, it is a difficult concept to study due to the lack of coherence between what DT 'is' in academic and practical terms. While there are numerous normative and often process-focused depictions of DT, they seem limited in their ability to account for what occurs in practice. Given the discussion of DT as a concept, and emerging discussion of its enactment, a framing is needed that acknowledges both aspects. This paper proposes a framing of DT that makes it researchable in both theory and practice, and discusses commonalities and discrepancies in how the concept is usually portrayed in the literature. The paper builds on an empirical interview study in six large organizations, which led to the development of a framework structure and the identification of five themes characterizing DT: User focus, Problem framing, Visualization, Experimentation and Diversity. Each theme is associated with specific principles/mindsets, practices and techniques. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a framework that includes DT both as an idea and as the enactment of the idea, inspired by the works of Latour.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to review the emerging research field of open innovation and identify where the field is going as well as suggest future fields of research. Design/methodology/approach -All academic papers and books published until November 2007 under the label of open innovation were systematically reviewed. Also, nine key researchers were asked to contribute with their opinions on the research frontier. Findings -A number of key themes in the research were identified, and conclusions on the underlying structure were drawn. This reveals that there is a tendency towards a broader definition and application of the term, a growing critical perspective, and a concentration on theory development and managerial implications.Research limitations/implications -The paper suggests that the locus of the innovation process and the extent of collaboration should be used as two dimensions in a model to further understanding of how open innovation develops. These dimensions have an important impact on both the human and the organizational side of innovation, areas that are highlighted as important fields for further research. Originality/value -Despite the interest in the open innovation topic, a comprehensive review of the academic publications in the area does not seem to exist. The review and the conclusions drawn support the understanding of the growing field.

Design Thinking (DT) is advocated as a user‐centred approach to innovation, based on the way designers think and work. Despite being increasingly promoted as an approach to innovation, there is still little evidence of successful impact. Rather, indications suggest that firms find implementation challenging. The purpose of this paper is to analyse challenges of using DT in light of literature on innovation barriers, in order to discuss whether there is something unique about DT as a concept that makes it particularly challenging to use. The paper is based on an interview study of five large firms that all have at least five years of experience of using DT. The analysis shows that several of the perceived challenges can be linked to known barriers to innovation. However, other challenges have not previously been described in the innovation literature, and the paper suggests that there are some unique aspects of DT that makes it particularly challenging for firms to integrate it in innovation work. These are related to its core themes: user focus, problem framing, experimentation, visualization and diversity. Additionally, the paper contributes with an empirically based categorization of challenges that managers will find useful if they want to implement design thinking in their organizations.

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Collaborating with peers to gain access to knowledge is an attractive alternative for organizations keen to improve their innovativeness, and the rising popularity of open innovation has resulted in the emergence of new actors in the innovation process. Previous research focuses mainly on the firms that collaborate with these actors. This paper adopts the perspective of an open innovation actor and the managerial challenges involved. It is based on a case study of SAFER, a Swedish traffic and vehicle safety research unit with 22 collaborating partners. The unit, which is here called an open innovation arena, differs from an intermediary in that it both enables open innovation within a specific field of expertise and envisages itself as a key player in that same field. The case study reveals three types of challenges for the management of an open innovation arena: challenges that arise at the interface with partner organizations, challenges related to collaboration between the partners, and challenges related to the arena itself.