Strategies of Product Managers: Negotiating Social Values in Digital Product Design

Product managers are central figures in digital product development, coordinating teams and prioritizing features. Despite their influence, little research explores how their decisions affect user experience, especially in integrating social values into product architecture. Employing a mixed-methods framework, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 product managers and an online survey with an additional 81, all based in Israel. Our study identifies four unique strategies product managers utilize to balance business goals, user satisfaction, and ethical considerations. The survey data further substantiates the prevalence of these strategies across diverse sectors, confirming they reflect industry-wide approaches in the Israeli tech sector rather than isolated practices. To conclude, we emphasize how “soft resistance” tactics, such as adjusting data interpretations based on personal values, impact digital product designs. Moreover, our findings highlight that maintaining an ethical reputation in the job market can be pivotal in shaping product design.