Innovation is an inherently uncertain process that takes time, often a long time. What may seem like a good idea now may not be such a good idea in the future, when market, technology and society have changed. That is why innovators need to have more than one vision of the future.
We have learned much about the way innovation processes take place within commercial organisations. And we have also studied the future since time began. However, thus far the way futures research can be used in innovation processes has not yet been the topic of scientific research. Given the importance of innovation in general and the use of visions of the future in innovation processes in particular, this can be seen as a serious omission.
This book is intended to remedy the current state of affairs by describing and analyzing six case studies on how commercial organisations use qualitative methods of futures research in innovation.
Patrick van der Duin (Amsterdam, 1970) studied economics at the University of Amsterdam. He later worked at KPN Research, where he conducted numerous projects involving the future of telecommunication. Currently he works at the Faculty of Technology, Policy & Management of Delft University of Technology. His topics of interest are futures research and innovation management, and the way they can be integrated.
