Human action and human design: An Austrian approach to design science

As design science advances into the foreground of entrepreneurship theory, we see a meta-theoretical tension between Simon's classic exposition of design and entrepreneurship theory's foundations within the Austrian school of economics. To resolve this tension, we argue that design science is mispositioned atop the conventional positivism that Simon embraced and is much better aligned with Austrian-style subjectivism of values, knowledge, and expectations. We elaborate design themes from classical contributions to Austrian economics to lay foundations for an “Austrian” approach to design. We conclude by illustrating how design processes are foundational to Austrian market theory and the Austrian theory of the firm.