EURO 2024 Copenhagen
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842. Navigating the path to future: Insights in fostering exploration in critical infrastructure systems

Invited abstract in session WB-11: Scenarios and foresight practices: Behavioural issues II, stream Behavioural OR.

Wednesday, 10:30-12:00
Room: 12 (building: 116)

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Simone Lombard
Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University
2. Heiko von der Gracht
Steinbeis University

Abstract

Scenario and foresight practices enable organisations to explore new opportunities and innovate. However, the value contribution of these methods depends on whether managers are able to implement the findings. Behavioural issues such as risk avoidance, conflicting organisational demands, and inappropriate decision-making logics hinder this transfer. Organisations often tend to prioritise protecting their dominant value creation over exploring new opportunities. The research aims to understand how behavioral issues and subtle factors influence the initiation of exploration.
The ongoing research examines exploratory foresight methods from an ambidexterity perspective. A bibliometric analysis was conducted to understand the variety of concepts and current discussion on ambidexterity. Our findings show that antecedents and capabilities, as well as the outcomes of ambidexterity are considered, while the actual management practices remain largely unexplored. Due to the complexity and idiosyncratic management approaches in companies, causality and management mechanism are difficult to research. For companies that provide critical infrastructure, innovation management must explicitly consider the impact on existing value creation, making it possible to explore factors and causal relationships. Further, we aim to understand multiple case studies in critical infrastructure systems and how management practices are reconfiguring structures and resources to seize future opportunities.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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