Anticipating the Post-Execution Economy: Artificial Intelligence, Foresight, and the Future of Competitive Systems

Abstract

AI is upending traditional competitive advantages grounded in execution excellence and scale, which will reshape economic systems. This paper explores how AI compresses the execution gap, transforming the industrial logic of economies of scale into economies of microscale. It then examines foresight and anticipation as emergent strategic imperatives for organisations navigating this accelerated environment. Drawing on foresight studies and innovation theory , the paper argues that AI is ushering in a post-execution economy, where advantage derives from anticipatory capacity, networked collaboration, and contextual intelligence rather than scale or efficiency.