Role of designers in developing new products: how it could contribute to transformational Country

Recent management literature has suggested that organizations have started to invest time and resource to address social problems. By moving away from innovation aimed at gaining a competitive advantage, we are experiencing the rise of innovation aimed at alleviating a social problem, called social innovation (SI). The field of SI is in its infancy and there are no unanimously accepted concepts and models of how to manage it. In particular, studies on SI are descriptive with no theoretical advancements, nor empirical studies of what constitutes SI outside Western Countries. This research addresses this issue, with a rigorous, original study of SI in a transactional economy: Vietnam. Through a large set of qualitative fieldwork, which included observations, document analysis, visual ethnography and interviews, we theorize what constitutes SI in a transitional economy; how the innovative process is managed; how it is diffused; and how to conceptualize existing innovation models to capture value for social innovations. The novelty of SI makes the majority of managerial concepts inappropriate, e.g. market and business models. This paper’s contribution is therefore significant. Theoretically it defines SI in terms of products, services, legislation aimed at community improvement, arousing skills and empowering marginalized communities, but also tackling market-based problems in order to make revenues to address social concerns. These innovations are typically sold at a symbolic price to the community, whilst at a market price outside the community to secure an income. Empirically, how SI is diffused through social medias is demonstrated; managerially, it proposes a spiral iterative approach in managing the SI process, and a new business model based on the readings of Pierre Duhem, which his holistic and includes a social dimension.