DESIGNING NORWEGIAN COMPETITIVENESS. PRODUCING AND CONSUMING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN SERVICES

This research seeks to identify how industrial design services are produced, organised and consumed in Norway. Specifically the project explores the geographies, formation processes (sources of design expertise and training) and organisation of the design industry and the ways in which the expertise engages with client firms in different regions of the country, including areas outside the largest conurbations. This includes the ways in buyers or sellers of design find each other, how relations are regulat ed and in practical terms work. It also includes analysis of structural dynamics of the firm, policy and institutional context. The study will identify ways of how industrial design is used to promote innovative products, be a key element to formation of new companies as well as exploring new markets. The project will provide quantiative and qualitative data as well as practical, theoretical and methodological contribution to the fields of product creation, enterprise competiveness and the globalisation o f production. The empirical evidence will focus on SMEs and mainly focus on products connected to household consumtion (eg. furniture, kitchen equipment, white goods, toys etc) rather than industrial equipment and factory machines. The data-collection wil l combine secondary data (eg. documention about design projects) telephone and face-to-face interviews both including designer and client firms. When possible, firms will be matched with their designers and both sides will be interviewed. Interviews will also include the public sector, especially for those projects included in the sample were Innovation Norway have been involved.