Synopses & Reviews
In this book, leading authors explore ways in which organizations can develop their ability to manage the future.
- An exploration of the ways in which organizations can develop their ability to manage the future.
- Consists of ten papers written by authors from both sides of the Atlantic and from Asia, all of whom are distinguished scholars in the fields of strategy or organizational learning.
- Addresses key questions about how organizational foresight can be conceptualized and developed, and the extent to which it is possible.
- The papers are prefaced by a foreword from Spyros Makridakis and an introduction from the editors.
- Helps to shape a new research agenda, and so will be of interest to academics, as well as to students and practitioners.
Synopsis
At a time of ever-accelerating change, when more and more organizations find themselves operating in high-velocity environments, the ability to look ahead, prepare for the future, and help create it is more crucial than ever.
The book consists of ten papers written by leading authors from both sides of the Atlantic and from Asia, all of whom are distinguished scholars in the fields of strategy or organizational learning. The papers address four key issues: how organizational foresight can be conceptualized; how organizations make sense of themselves and their environments; how the capability for strategic foresight can be developed; and to what extent strategic foresight in organizations is possible.
About the Author
Haridimos Tsoukasis the George D. Mavros Research Professor of Organization and Management at the Athens Laboratory of Business Administration (ALBA), Greece and Professor of Organization Studies, Warwick Business School, UK. He has published widely in several leading academic journals, including the
Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Studies, Organization Science, Journal of Management Studies, and
Human Relations. He is the Editor-in-Chief of
Organization Studies, serves on the Editorial Board of several journals and is co-editor of
The Oxford Handbook of Organization Theory: Meta-theoretical Perspectives(OUP, 2003).
Jill Shepherd is Assistant Professor of Management at the Faculty of Business Administration, Simon Fraser University, and co-organizer of the First International Conference on Organizational Foresight in the Knowledge Economy. Her research interests centre around the use of evolutionary theory, particularly a branch called memetics, to investigate knowledge creation and innovation within corporates, high tech firms and clusters. Prior to becoming an academic, Jill worked in industry both in an international corporate setting and in a ‘dot.com’ and operated as an international management consultant for a number of years.
Table of Contents
Figures.
Tables.
Notes on the Contributors.
Foreword: Foresight Matters (Spyros Makridakis).
1. Introduction: Organizations and The Future, From Forecasting To Foresight (Haridimos Tsoukas And Jill Shepherd).
Part I: Making Sense Of Organizational Foresight.
2. Re-Educating Attention: What Is Foresight And How Is It Cultivated (Robert Chia).
3. Invention And Navigation As Contrasting Metaphors Of The Pathways To The Future (V.K. Narayan And Liam Fahey).
4. Strategy And Time: Really Recognizing The Future (T.K. Das).
Part II: Foresight And Organizational Learning.
5. Foresight Or Foreseeing? A Social Action Explanation Of Complex Collective Knowing (David R. Schwandt And Margaret Gorman).
6. Retrospective Sensemaking And Foresight: Studying The Past To Prepare For The Future (Raanan Lipshitz, Neta Ron &Micha Popper).
7. Can Illusion Of Control Destroy A Firm's Competence? The Case Of Forecasting Ability (Rudolph Durand).
Part III: Developing Foresightful Organizations.
8. Time Travelling: Organizational Foresight As Temporal Reflexivity (Miguel Pina E. Cunha).
9. The Concept Of "Weak Signals" Revisited: A Re-Description From A Constructivist Perspective (David Seidl).
10. Meta-Rules For Entrepreneurial Foresight (Ted Fuller, Paul Argyle and Paul Moran).
11. Autopoietic Limitations Of Probing The Future (Deborah Blackman And Steven Henderson).
Afterword: Insights Into Foresight (Kees van der Heijden).
Index