Designers as Boundary Spanners during a Business- Design Project: A Knowledge Sharing Perspective

Authors

Jaehyun Park, Kyoto Institute of TechnologyFollow
Xiaohan Tian, Tokyo Institute of TechnologyFollow
Hyojoo Han, Georgia Gwinnett CollegeFollow
Younghoon Chang, Beijing Institute of TechnologyFollow
Yoko Ogushi, Sugiyama Jogakuen UniversityFollow

Abstract

In this paper, we explore designers’ behaviors as boundary spanners across three other knowledge boundaries—society, design, and business boundaries. To address this, Bourdieu’s theory of practice is invited as a theoretical foundation to investigate how designers’ behaviors as boundary spanners could effectively mediate other multiple stakeholders, taking and making their orientation from various other knowledge boundaries in the design projects. As an empirical evidence, this study conducted a case study of designers at Hab-Yu in Fujitsu. Inc. through two methods of conducting qualitative data which are field observations and qualitative interviews. Our findings suggest a theoretical framework, illustrating how designers as boundary spanners could explicitly interact with society, design, and business knowledge boundary communities. Throughout this, conclusions and implications are discussed.

Recommended Citation

Park, Jaehyun; Tian, Xiaohan; Han, Hyojoo; Chang, Younghoon; and Ogushi, Yoko, "Designers as Boundary Spanners during a Business- Design Project: A Knowledge Sharing Perspective" (2020). PACIS 2020 Proceedings. 234.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2020/234