Fiona Tilley

Foresighting methods and their role in researching small firms and sustainability

This paper is a report on the analysis underpinning research exploring the relationship between small firms and sustainability using foresighting methods. It identifies the main barriers preventing small firms from responding to the challenge of sustainability. The potential synergy between foresighting and small firms is outlined and a discussion of the literature linking foresighting methods and sustainability is presented. Sustainability is also compared with foresighting methods in order to identify complementary characteristics and the methodological underpinnings of foresighting is distinguished from different potential uses and interpretation of the methods. Finally, the paper assesses the utility of foresighting methods in the context of research on small firms and sustainability.