Design Leadership in China : A Competency Model Bridging Business Practice and Design Education

Gao, Xuan and Bakirlioglu, Yekta and Cureton, Paul (2026) Design Leadership in China : A Competency Model Bridging Business Practice and Design Education. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Design’s role has evolved from a focus on aesthetics and craft to a more strategic business function, increasing importance of design leadership. In China, government support for innovation is pushing more designers towards entrepreneurship. However, these designers often lack the required leadership and management competencies, a gap that current Chinese design education does not adequately address. As generic competency models are unsuitable for design-specific challenges, this research aims to develop and validate a Design Leadership Competency Model (DLCM) for Chinese design leaders and explore its implications for design education. A three-stage triangulating qualitative methodology was employed in this study. Stage 1 constructed a preliminary DLCM involving design leader interviews (N=26), grey literature (N=12) and job descriptions (N=50). Stage 2 validated the model through an expert survey (N=12), stakeholder interviews (educators, students and alumni) (N=14) and a workshop. Stage 3 then used the validated DLCM to map and identify competency gaps within design education from three perspectives: (1) education itself, via a desk review of eight design management and 71 design programmes across 21 universities, and complemented with an extra in-depth case study; (2) policy, by analysing 52 policies to identify what kinds of talent are demanded; (3) industry, by having the 26 design leader also examine taught versus absent competencies. Finally, this research presents the validated DLCM comprising three main categories, included skills, knowledge and mindset, which consist of 16 competencies and 58 sub-competencies. Moreover, it also demonstrates the DLCM’s practical potential by identifying gaps between the model and current design educational offerings, and also provides guidance for pedagogic enhancements to better cultivate future design leaders.