9 August 2016:
The research from Vecchiato (2015) highlights the benefits of corporate foresight and the need of an organisation to build the ability to respond to environmental changes (i.e. strategic agility). This important capability generates value to an organisation as foresight knowledge helps to achieve and/or sustain a competitive advantage.
The author demonstrates the need to document the sources of the competitive advantage, ability to foresee drivers of change and to define actions required to maintain long-term performance:
Fig. 1. Assessing the value created through corporate foresight: linkages between environmental uncertainty, first mover advantages, and organizational memory (Vecchiato 2015, p. 33)
Vecchiato concludes that by “conceptualizing strategic foresight as a “planned learning” process about the future which enhances the adaptive skills of the organisation, we hope to respond to criticism regarding its usefulness and value in strategic management (…)”. This important link is described as the “Foresight Continuum” in the Future Screening framework.
Reference:
Vecchiato, Riccardo 2015: “Creating value through foresight: first mover advantages and strategic agility”, Technological Forecasting & Social Change, vol. 101, pp. 25-36.
Link to full text article:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162514002558