The strategic role of design for the competitiveness of the Italian Industrial System

The aim of the paper is to analyze the role of design in re-launching the competitiveness of Italian SMEs. The importance of design in product innovation has grown dramatically during the last few years. Traditionally, design was considered an exception reserved for luxury segments and sophisticated niche markets that could appreciate a product’s aesthetic and artistic values. Now, design is becoming the synthetic expression of a range of managerial processes, including product innovation, communication, distribution channels, and renewed customer relations, that are innovating products by adding communicative value. On the basis of the analysis of case studies and focus groups, the paper aims at pointing out competitive models based on design for upgrading in global value chains.