Empathy and Business Transformation

Due to its potentially transformative nature, empathy has gained increasing attention in recent years across various fields such as business, psychology, neuroscience, education, medicine, social sciences, and design, to name just a few. Over the past two decades, discussions have emerged regarding the role of empathy in design as well as in creative research and practice, with empathy being perceived as a central tool in human-centered design and design thinking. This book highlights the powerful concept of empathy in the new post-pandemic era, where pervasive digitalization presents challenges in maintaining human-centeredness in the development of products and services.

The book presents a practical four-step approach to the challenges of how organizations can transition from mere compassion for people to actions of empathy and compassion that can be implemented with and by communities. A variety of organizations and organizational contexts can benefit from the case studies and research methods presented. Through these, the book explores how to discover, share, and act on empathy and compassion in the new digitally driven post-pandemic era to drive innovation across a range of organizations, including for-profit and non-profit companies as well as in the public and third sectors.

This edited volume will appeal to global researchers in the fields of product and service design as well as digital social innovation, as well as those interested in organizational development. The practical, interdisciplinary nature of the book and the innovative four-step approach will also attract graduate-level students.