The innovation challenges for a foreign business-to-business company in China are huge. It has to quickly respond to the diverse and rapidly changing customer needs in the large emerging market, while facing strong competition from both local newcomers with disruptive threats and other established global players. To build up its innovation capability, Siemens Corporate Technology China has developed a practical innovation methodology adapted from Design Thinking and integrated with the best practices of other user-driven approaches, to adjust to both China’s and industry requirements.
In this research paper Xiao Ge of Stanford University and Bettina Maisch of the Munich University of Applied Sciences examine how Siemens have adapted the customer centric approach of Design Thinking to a B2B environment in a foreign (to their corporate) culture.