Our main contribution is the improvement of our knowledge about the different kinds of
uncertainty and drivers of change a firm might face in its business environment. The
concept of “boundary uncertainty” builds upon the work of previous scholars who
emphasized the frequent emergence of new markets because of the increasing pace of
technological change (Bettis and Hitt, 1995; Santos and Eisenhardt, 2009; Vecchiato,
2012a). As we explore the concept of boundary uncertainty and continuous versus
discontinuous drivers of change, we try to deepen our understanding of the value of
strategic foresight versus strategic flexibility in coping with turbulent environments. We thus add to the long-running debate between the “planning” and the “learning” schools
of strategic management. On one hand, in the case of continuous drivers of change
which do not bring about boundary uncertainty, our findings are consistent with the core
tenet of the planning school – that an organization should try hard to predict changes
and new events (Ansoff, 1991). On the other hand, our findings clearly show that in the
case of discontinuous drivers of change which bring about boundary uncertainty,
decision-makers should stay flexible and emphasize agility, so as to adapt to changing
situations as they develop (Mintzberg, 1990). In this context, there is the serious risk
that such foresight practices and techniques like roadmaps become a source of inertia,
locking decision managers into the (wrong) future they predicted and thus distracting
them from the real future. Only once boundary uncertainty has been solved and
decision-makers have gained a sound grasp of the main components of their industry,
they might fully rely on planning approaches and foresight techniques to deepen the
investigation of the likely evolution of “discontinuous” drivers of change and their
impact on the organization.