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To examine and discuss the central features of institutional change and to compare it with organizational change.

Use interviews with managers to highlight key issues.

Results are presented of interviews with managers exploring changes that have for decades been transforming business, government, and other institutions into “organic” systems for the knowledge age. Institutional change differs from organizational change by focusing on the higher‐order unspoken social rules that govern the structure of institutions in common. The study evaluated trends driving this transformation, the obstacles blocking it, and the likely timetable of implementation.

Concludes that three central features mark the general direction of institutional evolution: “e‐organizations” operating in real time, “self‐organizing systems” of self‐managed teams, and “stakeholder collaboration” to unify diverse interests into a more powerful enterprise.

People sense that the world is passing through a profound transformation, but they badly need convenient, reliable information to guide their understanding and decisions. For the past ten years my colleagues and I have filled this need using an online system that pools the knowledge of experts to forecast emerging technologies – the GW Forecast.

To analyze the extent of, and the reasons for, institutional change in the private corporation.

The paper identifies seven “new rules of corporate conduct” which, in total, represent a radical change in the social contract between society and the corporation. It then speculates about future changes in corporate purpose and governance.

A central feature of the new corporate charter is that it is likely to entail a redefinition of the relationship between profit and corporate purpose. The purpose is service to society (i.e. serving social needs), while profit provides the means, motive and measure.

This paper provides the basis and rationale for moving the corporation from “profit‐as‐purpose” to “service‐as‐purpose” as the organizing principle for its strategies, values and actions.

A forecast of 20 e‐commerce applications shows that the Internet is likely to mature into a more sophisticated, conversational form of communication in about 2010, thereby entering the mainstream of advanced societies. This “second coming” of the dot.com era should create a resurgence of economic growth and exert powerful effects on business, government, education and other social functions.

The general concept of stakeholder management seems to be widely accepted, but its central tenet of “balancing” interests was prominently abandoned during the 1990s, as corporations favored financial interests rather than the balanced treatment proposed by stakeholder theory. The prevailing logic of business provides little incentive to do otherwise. Managers and scholars generally think about stakeholders in terms of morality, ethics, and social responsibility rather than economic value and competitive advantage. This article presents an economic theory of the firm and supporting evidence that reconcile the conflict between profitability and responsibility. Rather than passive recipients of responsible treatment, modern stakeholders work with managers to improve their own benefits while also enhancing corporate profitability. Thus, the wealth‐creating role of business arises directly out of integrating stakeholders into a productive whole – a “corporate community.”

This article gives managers and executives a way to think about how their organizations can benefit from the technology revolution.

Results are presented of an improved Delphi forecasting method that forecasts breakthroughs in all fields of science and technology.

Breakthroughs are expected that will transform business over the next 20 years.

Managers should develop a similar system to guide their strategic planning and product development.

An improved Delphi method has been used to pool the knowledge of 100 experts working online around the globe to forecast breakthroughs in all fields of science and technology. Results show that major advances are under way everywhere, which are likely to transform business and society over the next 20 years. Managers are shown how they can develop a similar method to guide their strategic planning and product development, thereby benefiting from the coming technology revolution.

To provide a futures‐oriented perspective on institutional change.

Presents methods and case studies of attempts to engage in institutional change. An international authority on future studies draws on his field to provide a futures‐oriented perspective on institutional change. This perspective includes the use of futures tools, strategy, capacity building, the central role of memes, emergence of self‐organization, and the underlying role of meaning and symbols. Five case studies are used to illustrate these principles.

One company was struggling over its governing choice of institutional metaphor: the tortoise versus the hare. Another was caught up in treating hackers as good versus evil, but realized that they needed new concepts to grasp the frontier of cyberspace. A third case involved moving from developing a monolithic plan to forming self‐organizing groups of stakeholders that actually created a collective new vision. A city council was able to recognize the need to shift toward an innovative organizational structure. The final case challenged a group of mayors to adopt a “rainforest” model of cities that is inclusive, green, human‐centered.

Mapping, understanding and transforming the “myths” discussed in this paper are crucial for the move from individual to organization to institutional change.

The purpose of this article is to help managers and scholars understand the state‐of‐the‐art in knowledge management (KM) and how it is likely to develop further. The paper draws on many examples and original research to outline a conceptual framework describing the evolution of KM. KM is presently limited because the nature of knowledge makes it difficult to actually “manage.” Instead, the field is moving toward an organic form of management focusing on three main concepts: “e‐organizations” that automatically integrate all information and knowledge, “self‐organizing systems” composed of small entrepreneurial units that draw out creative knowledge from the bottom up, and “corporate communities” that use stakeholder knowledge to improve strategy. Managers should develop these organic organizational forms because they encourage the natural creation and flow of knowledge more effectively.