Beyond Design Thinking: Developing HIVE Theory to Explain Value Co-Creation Processes.

Design thinking and value co-creation have been considered one of the most prominent innovative methods to solve any social issues or problems. Many researchers since 1995, are working in this area, however, the theoretical foundation of this domain is highly fragmented and not well established to date. So, the objective of this article is to propose a theoretical foundation in design and value co- creation research. Based on the available literature, this research identified the existing applied theories, their applications, and research gaps in the design thinking and value co-creation process.  Additionally, this research identifies different variables, their major contributions, and develops various constructs to explain the process. Based on the Conflict-Character-Setting-Sequencing-Plot- Arc guideline, this research proposed Human-centered innovation and Value Ecosystem Theory (HIVE Theory) to explain the design thinking and value creation process with 10 propositions and 10 possible hypotheses.  This proposed HIVE theory has a practical application among stakeholders and would be helpful for the policy framework.