Product innovation in technical and industrial contexts has traditionally been examined through the lenses of engineering capability, technological advancement, and functional performance. While these dimensions remain essential, they provide an incomplete explanation for why technically comparable products often achieve markedly different market outcomes. This paper argues that a critical yet underexplored determinant of innovation success lies in commercial design—the managerial process through which technical products are deliberately shaped, positioned, and structured to create commercial relevance in the market. The study conceptualizes commercial design as a distinct layer of product innovation that operates between technical design and market execution. Unlike product design, which focuses on functional and engineering attributes, commercial design addresses how technical features are configured, constrained, and communicated in response to pricing pressures, procurement practices, customer decision logic, and competitive conditions. From a business management perspective, commercial design is not a downstream marketing activity but an integral component of innovation decision-making that influences which technical possibilities are pursued and how they are translated into market value. Drawing on insights from industrial markets, the paper examines how managers use commercial design to transform technical products into commercially viable innovations. It highlights the role of managerial judgment in balancing performance ambitions with cost structures, standardization requirements, and customer expectations. The analysis demonstrates that innovation outcomes are shaped not only by what products can technically do, but by how effectively their technical potential is commercially designed to fit market realities. The article develops a conceptual model that explains how commercial design interacts with managerial decision-making, organizational alignment, and commercial interfaces such as RFQs and pricing negotiations. This model illustrates how commercial design mediates the relationship between technical capability and commercialization success, offering an explanation for variation in innovation performance among firms with similar engineering resources. By foregrounding commercial design as a managerial mechanism, the study reframes product innovation as a commercially informed design process rather than a purely technical endeavor. This paper contributes to the product innovation and business management literature by introducing commercial design as a core construct for understanding innovation in technical products. It provides theoretical insights for scholars examining innovation beyond engineering-centric frameworks and offers practical guidance for managers seeking to enhance innovation effectiveness in industrial markets. By integrating technical, commercial, and managerial dimensions, the study advances a more holistic understanding of how technical products can be innovated and commercialized successfully.
BAYRAM TÜRKOĞLU (Thu,) studied this question.