From Needs to Satisfiers: How Design Thinking Can Inform Organizational Learning Processes

Needs drive organizational learning and guide organizational change. Current research proposes efficient methods to identify (shared) needs in organizations. However, there is a lack of organizational learning methodologies that utilize knowledge about (shared) needs and promote the development of need‐based solutions. In organizational practice, we face complex social dynamics, which strongly influence such learning processes. Design thinking is one approach to cope with these dynamics and provides a frame for participatory methodologies to develop need‐based solution. In this article, we clarify the concept of shared need. Moreover, we review seminal literature on design thinking to crystallize its basic principles. We consider how these principles could enhance the necessary capacities to turn needs into viable satisfiers. We report from a first attempt to implement these principles in practice and reflect on the results of this organizational learning intervention.