Innovation thrives within ecosystems, but orchestrating these complex networks requires more than just contracts and policies. Scholars have long sought tools for collaborative ecosystem management, and a recent paper sheds light on a promising solution: corporate foresight.

The core idea? Corporate foresight tools, when applied at the ecosystem level, can effectively orchestrate these dynamic networks. Unlike traditional foresight focused on individual firms, ecosystem-level foresight targets a diverse set of actors, engages them in shared strategy development, and helps shape a collective vision of the future.

The paper highlights three key insights:

• Ecosystem-level foresight reaches beyond focal firms, involving complementary firms, investors, and non-market actors.
• It fosters shared strategy development among ecosystem actors, leveraging a mix of foresight tools.
• It helps chart collective anticipation of innovations and policies, guiding the ecosystem toward shared future options.

Ultimately, the authors argue that corporate foresight tools are not just tools—they’re constitutive elements of ecosystems, shaping them into shared, lived realities.

For a deeper dive into this groundbreaking research, click the button below.

Author: Matthew Spaniol