Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Dec 2025

Design Thinking in Business and Professional Communication Pedagogy: A Review of Pedagogical Studies, 2014–2024

Jason Tham

Abstract

This review analyzes 59 studies from 2014 to 2024 examining design thinking integration in professional communication pedagogy across eight disciplinary journals. Design thinking has evolved from experimental use to systematic pedagogical approaches, with assignment-level integration proving most viable for educators. Empathy interviews and user research bridge design thinking principles with communication pedagogy’s audience awareness focus. Students show enhanced empathy, improved collaboration, and increased creative confidence with high motivation levels. Implementation challenges include time constraints, student resistance to ambiguity, and assessment difficulties. The study recommends scaffolded introduction, integration with existing content, and institutional support for desirable implementation in business and professional communication pedagogy.

Journal
Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Published
2025-12-09
DOI
10.1177/23294906251397613
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Topics
multimodality professional writing affect and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

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Show all 14 →
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