Toward a Technology of Foolishness: Developing Scenarios Through Serious Play

Claus D. Jacobs and Matt Statler

International Studies of Management & Organization, 2006, vol. 36, issue 3, 77-92

Abstract: Scenario planning has been advocated as a means for strategists to shift their mental models on strategic phenomena. While the process itself has traditionally involved the rational analysis of coherent narratives about a firm and its environmental context, there have been recent calls to consider scenario-development approaches that involve more creativity and intuition. In response to this debate, we recall March's distinction between the "technology of reason" and the "technology of foolishness" and pursue his suggestion to conceive of play as an archetype of foolishness. We then consider recent organizational and strategy research that develops the concept of serious play, and we explore the normative implications of this concept for scenario planning in practice. Finally, we present and discuss an empirical illustration of a strategy workshop involving serious play in a large European telecommunications service provider.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.2753/IMO0020-8825360304

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