Xihui Liu(Sylvia Liu) joined HKPolyU as a PhD candidate at School of Design in 2007. Prior to this, she was design manager in NOVA DESIGN and responsible for the management of the design department and design projects. The clients she has serviced include GM, YAMAHA, Faw, Kinglong, SYM, Zongshen, Siemens, Electrolux, Haier, Hisense, CNC, Midea, BBK, Konka. Xihui Liu received her Master of Art degree from Southern Yangtze University and her bachelor's degree from Nanjing University of Science & Technology in China. Her current research is focused on design and business, i.e. the design capacity in Chinese SMEs and models of outsourcing design in China.

RESEARCH TITLE
The role of design management and design capability in enhancing competitiveness in Chinese SMEs

NAME OF PhD ADVISORS
Prof. John HESKETT
Prof. Lorraine JUSTICE

SHORT INTRODUCTION / DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH PROJECT
For business success, one of the most critical issues is to find out the most suitable management characteristics to integrate design into Chinese corporate structures and activities. Though the topic of design and business has more than forty years of history in western countries, it is still a fresh topic in economically developing China. “Globalization”, “outsourcing”, and “innovation” add new context to design management research in China. On the other hand, fast-developing local companies manage to transform their role from OEM to ODM and OBM not only in the local market but also worldwide. There is an urgent need for knowledge and guidelines from research to back up these developments. This research will bridge the gap and explore the role of design consultants, the value and effects of design in different business enterprise models by investigating outsourcing design projects and design development situations in Chinese local manufacturing enterprises.

Publications:
Articles

• Qi Chen and Xihui Liu, The Development of Productive Service Industry and Design Industry in China, 2006 International Conference on Industrial Design & The 11th China Industrial Design Annual Meeting, 2006
• Xihui Liu, “Design Environment in Mainland China,” CADesigner, 05, PP120-121, 2003
• Xihui Liu, “Mainland China's Motorcycle Market Heats Up,” Design, 04, PP40-41, 2003
• Xihui Liu and Fuchang Zhang, “Cultural Spirit of Traditional Chinese Furniture,” Furniture & Interior Decoration, 01, 2002
• Lian Zhu and Xihui Liu, “Metal Decoration Parts on Cabinets of Ming and Qing Dynasty,” Journal of furniture, Vol. 2, pp46-49, 2001

• NOVA DESIGN, Do Design-24 Lessons of Industrial Design and Creative Management, China: China Building Press, 2005
• Chinese Blue Ocean Strategy, China: Science Press, 2007, in collaboration with Qi Chen.