Deep thinking in the open foresight: a new approach for building the future

The fourth wave of corporate foresight that is called "open foresight"; is an approach that seeks to understand, anticipate and shape future changes through broad social interactions and knowledge sharing between internal and external stakeholders. However, open foresight literature is at the development stage. So the purpose of this article is to deep understanding and cognition the nature of open foresight in the form of three axes of "why, what and how". This research has been conducted by systematic literature review and summarizing articles indexed in valid international scientific databases in the interval (2000-2020). Research findings show that "why" open foresight is explained in two topics of environmental drivers and supportive theoretical perspectives. Out of box thinking, synergy of resources, external knowledge absorption, collaborative knowledge management, inspiration for open innovation and open vision represent "what" open foresight. The process of open foresight includes three stages: pre-foresight, foresight and post-foresight; and requires individual, team and organizational preconditions. In addition, the role of the strategist is very important for trust building, facilitating information flow, coordinating and evaluating programs. This research, with systematic literature review, offers a deep insight into "why, what and how" open foresight; and while developing open foresight theory, opens a new window for future researchers.