Case Studies of Design-Driven Regenerative Strategies for Business Change New Opportunities in Emerging Markets

Corporate resilience is becoming crucial for European businesses which must adapt and thrive amidst disruptions. While business management is essential, the Design field also plays a critical role in fostering resilience. This research explores how design-driven strategies can support business transformation, integrating Design to address business fragility. The study focuses on Industrial Conversion (IC) and Product Diversification (PD) as strategic approaches, positioning Design as a tool for Strategic Innovation capable of identifying emerging trends and translating them into new products and services. Using qualitative case-based reasoning, the research analyzes 95 case studies of Italian companies, highlighting design-driven strategies through a multilevel Dataset Visualization. This approach reveals patterns and insights — such as common schemas related to technology maturity, competitive markets, and product-process innovations — offering valuable guidelines for implementing effective, design-led business transformations. These guidelines include actions on skill and knowledge development, market entry strategies, vertical integration, and design maturity assessment, benefiting both the design community and manufacturing companies.