2. Theoretical Framework

In this chapter the theoretical foundation will be unfolded. A part of the theoretical foundation has already been unfolded in the introduction chapter. This was done by identifying the intersection between the internal and external challenges, which face interdisciplinary teams working in the early phases of innovation, as a gap in the present knowledge (See Fig 1.3). Still, it is necessary to unfold the theoretical foundation in two additional directions. First of all, it is necessary to provide an understanding of the perspective, which is used in this book. As mentioned earlier, the book is directed toward an interdisciplinary audience; it is, however, built upon a design perspective and a ‘designerly’ way of understanding the early phases of innovation. This design perspective influences for instance the development of the workshop setup. Therefore, it is necessary to unfold these implicit insights and understandings from design in this chapter and also to explain, why the design perspective is relevant in respect to the early phases of innovation. The second direction is the theoretical framework. The theoretical framework is identified and developed in order to understand and interpret the empirical findings. The theoretical framework is going to be used as the lens in which the empirical data (and the complexity it holds) can be framed and understood. The theoretical framework will have an overall focus on meaning. Meaning will be reviewed in relation to three areas, which are relevant to the workshop setup. First of all, meaning will be reviewed in relation to how individuals are creating meaning, and how this meaning is communicated. Second, meaning will be reviewed in relation to how teams are creating shared frames. And finally, meaning will be unfolded in relation to physical artifacts in terms of how they impact the communication of meaning as well as the creation of shared frames.