Design thinking (DT) is expanding its horizons across a variety of different domains. One of the early and debated contributions regarding DT addressed its relationship with the entrepreneurial field. Today, there are numerous contributions that design thinking can offer in the creation of new ventures. However, there are few examples in the literature that discuss the concrete impacts and benefits of adopting DT in this field, demonstrating it through entrepreneurial projects. This paper aims to explore practitioners’ experiences with the application of theories from design thinking inside an entrepreneurial context. The impacts of the learning and the relative application of the main design thinking principles are evaluated via a sample of 50 participants in an international summer academy that offered education on DT concepts and practices. Through this research, a deep understanding of how design thinking can contribute to entrepreneurship is provided, highlighting which specific DT abilities enable the development of entrepreneurial activity.

The furniture industry represents a substantial segment of Europe’s economy, with the European Union producing approximately 25% of the world’s furniture. This sector is currently transitioning towards a circular economy. This study aims to thoroughly examine the circular initiatives undertaken by European furniture companies, emphasising the role of design in fostering innovative solutions. By employing a multiple case study methodology, the research demonstrates that existing circular solutions predominantly focus on materials and products, with significant adoption of circular design strategies. The majority of furniture companies are implementing these strategies to enhance resource efficiency and prolong product lifespans. Additionally, some companies are developing complementary service systems to improve product performance and longevity further. However, only a few have successfully implemented circular business models alongside circular product design strategies. This study also highlights that increasing user engagement and adopting a systemic perspective that includes various stakeholders in creating mutually beneficial solutions are areas that are still underdeveloped. Finally, we propose a framework to effectively guide furniture companies in implementing design strategies from a systemic perspective, aiming to generate comprehensive circular solutions within the European furniture sector.

In a post-pandemic context, the application of user experience design to employees’ perspectives represents one of the stimulating challenges both among design practitioners and researchers. The paper discusses novel approaches that Design may implement to support organizational transformation. How can Employee Experience Design be applied to support organizations in redefining working scenarios? A qualitative analysis has been run to address this question, with a Participatory Action Research method through observations and tests developed with the support of the HR department of the Corporate Investment Banking division in Intesa Sanpaolo. Findings show how identifying key trends in employee perceptions and critical touchpoints, designing a set of experiential options and experience models to be tested, and engaging employees in the process of reflection in a collaborative design context can enhance the gradual redefinition of a qualitative employee experience. Moreover, the paper proposes a framework for design intervention in an organizational context, aiming to stimulate future opportunities for design practitioners and researchers to intervene in how people experience working routines. Keywords Employee Experience Design Thinking Organizational transformation Strategic Design Action Research

This research explores the impact of Design Thinking (DT) on Organizational Behaviour, explicitly focusing on individual employees, the micro-level of the organization. The research runs a single-case study within an Italian bank adopting DT through its HR department. The study proposes a model illustrating how DT adoption influences specific individual behavioral constructs: motivations, attitudes, capabilities, and creative behaviors. The study finds that fostering confidence in the creative process enhances human engagement and proactivity.

The Italian contract furniture sector, an important component of national manufacturing, faces increasing pressure to align with sustainability goals. Servitization, shifting from product-centric to service-oriented business models, offers promising potential to support this transition but remains underexplored in practice, especially in traditional industries. This research investigates how strategic design can act as a catalyst for implementing servitization to support companies’ sustainable transition, and specifically, how strategic design supports companies in integrating sustainability into their innovation and development processes. In the ACTAS pilot project, an Italian furniture company is involved in a series of co-creation workshops to prototype a product service system development process that is aligned with long-term sustainability objectives. The findings show that strategic design enables internal alignment, fosters long-term visioning, and translates sustainability goals into actionable strategies. The study proposes a conceptual model that highlights the importance of design interventions across multiple organisational levels and phases of innovation. This research contributes both empirically and methodologically to the field of design for sustainability transitions by demonstrating how strategic design can bridge business innovation and systemic change, offering a framework for traditional manufacturing contexts navigating sustainability challenges.