Die Rolle des Corporate Foresight im Innovationsprozess: Ziele, Ausgestaltung und Erfahrungen am Beispiel der Siemens AG

This article focuses on activities of corporate foresight that constitute one of the core elements of strategic innovation management. Hence, corporate foresight plays a crucial role for the mid- to longterm competitiveness of firms. It typically comprises the stages of idea generation to idea selection. Forecasting activities are of particular importance to corporate foresight as they allow detecting future trends and discontinuities such as technology shocks. Though there is much theoretical knowledge on corporate foresight activities, there is only little empirical evidence that shows how these activities are actually conducted in practice. Using the example of the Siemens AG, this article reveals how corporate foresight is professionally implemented in this company, which goals are pursued with it and what kind of experiences have been made so far. In particular, the motivation of all employees who are engaged in this process and the general acceptance of the foresight process have been key to its success.