Design Thinking as Inquiry: A Pragmatic Method for Researching Complex Finance Contexts

Design thinking has become a prominent methodology for tackling complex problems in various fields, yet its potential as a research tool in finance remains largely untapped. This paper explores how design thinking can serve as a robust abductive research methodology, particularly suited for the uncertain and dynamic nature of financial research. By aligning the iterative processes of design thinking with the principles of pragmatism, this approach bridges the gap between theory and practice, fostering actionable insights. We demonstrate how design thinking’s human-centered ethos and iterative experimentation can be effectively employed to address “wicked problems” in finance, such as market volatility, financial inclusion, and behavioral finance anomalies. Drawing on foundational pragmatist philosophies and qualitative research methodologies, we propose a framework for applying design thinking to financial research, offering new pathways for theoretical development and empirical application.

Keywords: Design Thinking Method, Theory-Practice Gap, Qualitative Research, Finance Research, Abductive Reasoning, Pragmatism, Theoretical Framework, Human-Centered Design.