Strategic Foresight: An Introductory Guide to Practice

ISBN-13: 9781032299235 / Angielski

Jan Oliver Schwarz

Opis

Organisations today are being challenged to make sense of changes in environments that, now more than ever, are described as VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous). They are also being driven to understand how the future will evolve and what impact it will have not only on the organisations themselves but also on industries and societies. In recent decades a field has emerged to support organisations in addressing these challenges: strategic foresight.

This book is a comprehensive introduction to strategic foresight. It presents a history of the field and explains the main principles in thinking about the future. The book describes how organisations can apply strategic foresight and explains how it relates to other fields such as strategy, innovation, and leadership, highlighting the relevance of strategic foresight not only for organisations but also for individuals, particularly managers and leaders. Grounded in the theoretical foundations of strategic foresight, the book reflects the latest academic research and explores practical applications in different contexts. It draws on more than two decades of experience that the author has in the field as a researcher and as a consultant in the corporate context.

This is essential reading for managers and leaders of public and private organisations who want to establish strategic foresight practices, as well as students of foresight and managers in the fields of innovation, research & development, and marketing.　

Spis treści

Part I: Background to strategic foresight  1. Historical development of strategic foresight (by Theresa Schropp)  2. Thinking about the future  Part II: Applications of strategic foresight  3. Conceptualising strategic foresight  4. Weak signals and trends  5. Trend Receiver (by Rupert Hofmann)  6. The Delphi method: How experts see the future (by Heiko von der Gracht)  7. Scenario planning  8. Futures literacy laboratories (by Stefan Bergheim)  9. Business wargaming  10. Design thinking  11. Transformation and open strategy  12. Strategic foresight and its antecedents  Part III: Strategic foresight in practice  13. Strategic foresight: An emerging field  14. Working with strategic foresight: Seven principles  15. Conclusion

O autorze

Jan Oliver Schwarz is a professor of Strategic Foresight and Trend Analysis and head of the Bavarian Foresight-Institute at the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt. His academic and consulting work focuses on various aspects of strategic foresight.