Making your R&D future proof: The roles of corporate foresight in innovation management

Abstract

In the strategic management literature it is emphasized that in order to ensure long term survival and competitiveness, companies need to develop ambidextrous capabilities. Such capabilities should enable companies to develop both incremental innovation and radical innovation. In innovation management scholars and practitioners alike have engaged with great interest in understanding how large companies can develop radical innovation concluding that separate organizational structures and processes need to be put in place. In this article we explore how companies use corporate foresight to enhance their ability to develop both radical and incremental innovation. Using empirical evidence from 18 case studies in multinational enterprises and over 100 interviews, we identify three roles of corporate foresight systems for innovation management: The Initiator, the Strategist and the Opponent.