Provocation: A proactive strategy for anticipation and innovation

Abstract

The ability to anticipate the future based on signals of the present is crucial for organizations wishing to innovate and obtain superior results in the dynamic markets they operate. To this end, provocation can be considered a proactive strategy associated with foresight to gather information not known a priori, with the potential to generate new interpretations aimed at innovation and anticipation. Based on interviews with 49 professionals from the Business and Management field, this article contributes to theoretical and practical advances by conceptualizing provocation as a managerial strategy, as well as identifying its use in the organizational environment and the results obtained from it. As a result, it presents a provocation flow and a list of the main provocative elements and collective moments in which managers intentionally use provocations to stimulate future-thinking and innovation in their companies.