Strategic planning and organizational flexibility in turbulent environments

Abstract

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to address a key issue in literature on management and foresight: the author explores how firms might cope with the increased turbulence of the business environment. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a multiple case study of major firms of the energy and the mobile communication industries. Findings – The focus is on strategic foresight and organizational flexibility: the author introduces the concept of “boundary uncertainty” and investigates its managerial implications. Originality/value – The main contribution of this paper is to expand our understanding of environmental uncertainty and to reinvigorate the study of strategic decision making in turbulent industries. The author provides descriptive data on the foresight approaches that some of the world’s largest and most influential companies used throughout the 2000s for remaining aligned with their fast-paced environments, and thus informs the debate between the “planning” and the “learning” schools of strategic management.