Design-Convergent R&D in Korea and Policy Implications

Design-centered innovation is based on consumer needs, pain points, and latent desires. Its major strength is that products developed through this approach are more likely to succeed in the market. While innovation is shifting rapidly from a technology-centered approach to a user- and consumer-centered one, the importance of design in R&D activities continues to increase. Nam (2012) suggests that convergence design should be developed because it could improve industrial competitiveness and the sustainability of industrial technologies. Convergence design maximizes consumers’ utility and the economic value of products by combining knowledge, technology, function, and aesthetics. Nam shows that industrial technologies are more competent when utilizing creativity in design, and emphasizes the convergence potential of design and technology as a new growth engine. Industrial-technological design convergence is considered the best way to satisfy contemporary consumers who have complicated and multilayered desires. For this reason, the necessity of design-convergent R&D has emerged from the early stages of R&D planning. In Korea, the importance of design-convergent R&D has become particularly evident in product development. Accordingly, related support programs are being operated by government departments such as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office. This study reviews the significance and necessity of design-R&D convergence amid a decline in manufacturing and advancements in IT and examines the application of design in private sector R&D and government support for design-technology convergence. We use survey data of Korean companies that engage in R&D in analyzing the current status of design-technology convergence in Korea and the R&D outcomes that such convergence has produced. The purpose of this study is to provide innovative policy recommendations based on findings related to the achievements of design convergence in domestic industries.