Design for Product and Service Innovation in Industry 4.0 and Emerging Smart Society

Abstract

Within the context of the increasing digitalisation and intertwining cyber and physical dimensions connected by Internet, the paper aims at contributing towards understanding and conceptualising extent and scope of design integration for smart production and services and value generation for smart society including enterprises, customers and end-users. Research on design integration within the industry 4.0 or "internet of things" phenomena from strategic management perspective is still marginalised. Concepts from strategic and innovation management as well as open innovation including design and industry 4.0 perceptions are linked to propose a practice-oriented design integration approach for business practices in developing and exploiting new products or services in industry 4.0 context. The paper proposes conceptual approach to design integration and implementation within product or process development processes leading towards valuable innovations on corporate and societal level. It exemplifies how smart digitalisation and new enabling technologies might generate innovations driven by design as a tool and process. Design's role is demonstrated by intertwining dimensions of information, knowledge, technology, communication and society with different players and stakeholders, who share production or service inputs and outputs between different stakeholders in an open, distributed and co-existing way at different spatial and temporal scale.

The Effect of Digitalization on the Commercialization Process of High-Technology Companies in the Life Sciences Industry

“…The effect of digitalization leads to a new form of commercialization process. If this effect continues, it can be argued that the commercialization process will become more iterative, lean, or agile because commercialization activities will be more flexible and intertwined, as Schwab (2015) and Gerlitz (2015) have stated. Additionally, an iterative and lean process will be needed for the discovery and commercialization of new technologies.…”

“…The primary motives for the use of digitalization by industries are to reduce cost (Manyika et al, 2013), enhance performance (Markovitch & Willmott, 2014), promote internal efficiency (Parviainen et al, 2017), improve smart production process (Gerlitz, 2015), add value to a supply chain (Tihinen & Kääriäinen, 2016), create a new product or service (Degryse, 2016), adapt to new changes (Henriette et al, 2015), manage competition, and stimulate demand (Sabbagh et al, 2012). Parviainen and colleagues (2017) explain that:…”

“…The drivers for a new form of commercialization are cost and timeframe reduction, customer-market orientation, positive entrepreneur attitude, and high need for business. Degryse (2016), Gerlitz (2015), Manyika and colleagues (2013), Markovitch and Willmott (2014), and Parviainen and colleagues (2017) have identified these drivers as motivating factors for adopting digitalization.…”

“…Figure 5 shows that the commercialization activities are interconnected, and the stages seem to be blurry. Indeed, digitalization clears border lines among different spheres of life, including business operations (Degryse, 2016;Gerlitz, 2015;Parviainen et al, 2017;Schwab, 2015). The figure also shows that commercialization is grouped into three stages: pre-commercialization, actual commercialization, and post-commercialization.…”

“…It fuses many technologies and, thereby, it blurs the lines between different facets of everyday life. For example, physical products, digital services, and biological spheres are now intertwined (Gerlitz, 2015). This situation is changing every sphere of business operations and society's activities as a whole (Degryse, 2016).…”