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This book explores the application of Design Thinking in the automotive industry in order to explain which factors influence the innovativeness of Design Thinking teams. Seeking for innovation leadership, automotive manufacturers apply Design Thinking to enhance their competitiveness with customer-oriented products and services. Design Thinking is a multidisciplinary team-based methodology that adopts design principles to business management. In the literature and practice, however, it is not clear, what constitutes the relationship between the application of Design Thinking and team´s innovativeness. A grounded theory and template analysis approach is used to develop a framework which explains this relationship. Managers and decision-makers of multinationals are provided with practical recommendations about how to implement Design Thinking to produce innovative products and services.

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Ellen Simon, Master of Science (M.Sc.), studied "Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship" at the Technical University of Berlin and University of Twente in a Double-Degree Master Program. Before, she graduated as a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in "Informationsorientierter Betriebswirtschaftslehre" at the University of Augsburg. In parallel, the author gained experience in diverse project placements at the German automotive and consulting industry. Thus, she has special knowledge in the area of project management, technology management, innovation management and information technology. At the moment, she works as an International Trainee at an automotive manufacturer. This book is based on her studies and work experience in this industry.

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