Design Management in the Textile Industry - A Network Perspective

In this paper we explore textile design activities and textile design management from an industrial network perspective. The textile industry is probably one of the most globalized manufacturing industries in the world and thus one of the most dispersed industries on the globe.
Most studies on design management are framed inside the organisational context of the firm. In this study the role and practice of textile design is addressed in perspective of the global textile production network. The empirical data stems from six case studies exploring how different types of enterprises are organised in larger networks of suppliers, customers and other relations.
Comparing the organisational networks we discuss how design activities unfold under different organisational settings. We also demonstrate that it is crucial for the companies who rely on external production facilities to have a strong design management in order to maintain the relationships in their network of customers and suppliers.