Technology foresight and industrial strategy

•Coherence between TF and industrial policy is needed in developing countries.•Industrial strategies are crucial to foster economic growth and innovation.•Technology Foresight (TF) and industrial strategy are two sides of the same coin.•Production is internationally fragmented and organized along global value chains.•TF and industrial strategies need to reflect this new fragmented reality.

When Technology Foresight (TF) began to be adopted in industrial countries, it tended to be still somewhat a marginal activity in developing countries. Today globalization radically transformed the range of economic activities that developing countries can perform. Production is fragmented and organized along global value chains. Dense flows of knowledge and technology are available, but need to be fully employed in the framework of coherent industrial strategies.This paper examines how and to which extent TF programs are needed in developing countries given the new prevailing global context. It argues that the TF and industrial strategy are and must be mutually consistent and they need to be taken seriously, coherently designed and implemented in light of their role to shape and economic growth. We provide preliminary support to this argument by discussing the theoretical foundations and justification of TF and industrial strategy, and then reviewing some relevant examples from Brazil, Chile and South Korea.