The evidence boundary around scenario planning
The table separates what the exploratory studies report from the operating mechanism a reader may still need to record.
| Object | Status | What the evidence lets us say | What it does not let us say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scenario planning | Source-held | It explores possible descriptions of the future and is not forecasting or prediction. | It improves performance by definition. |
| Water study | Source-held, exploratory | 28 companies were contacted, 22 responded, and five respondents reported no use; an apparent financial signal sat beside poorer service measures. | Scenario use caused the financial or service pattern. |
| IT study | Source-held, exploratory | 25 questionnaires returned, with 11 users and 14 non-users; the reported associations are tentative. | The comparison generalizes to other firms or proves an effect. |
| Trigger-to-resource link | Author framework | A named trigger and a named resource move make an operating mechanism inspectable. | Phelps et al. validated this as an intervention. |
| Outcome and causal interpretation | Not reported as a chain in the source | A reader can record the result and the interpretation separately. | Scenario use itself proves the result or its cause. |
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Reference & Evidence
Source: Phelps, Chan & Kapsalis (2001), Journal of Business Research 51(3), pp. 224–231.
Each line is a claim from the register this journal publishes against, resolved from the register at build time.
- A The paper opens by naming the gap it works in: "little evidence is available about the effects of scenario planning on company performance" Phelps, Chan & Kapsalis (2001), pp. 224-225 ·
PCK01-C1 - A The water study is small and the paper counts it: "All 28 were asked to participate in this study. Twenty-two agreed", and "Of the 22 respondents, only five (23%) reported no use of scenario planning" Phelps, Chan & Kapsalis (2001), pp. 226-227 ·
PCK01-C2 - A The water study combines a financial measure with "three measures of performance specific to the water industry: water quality, inadequate pressure of supplies, and supply interruptions", so an apparent financial signal sits beside poorer service measures Phelps, Chan & Kapsalis (2001), pp. 226-227 ·
PCK01-C3 - A The IT study is smaller still: twenty-"five questionnaires were returned. Eleven of these compa""nies (44%) were using scenario planning and 14 were not" Phelps, Chan & Kapsalis (2001), pp. 228-231 ·
PCK01-C4 - A And it grades its own conclusions: "Comparison of these studies allows some tentative conclusions regarding the effects of scenario planning to be drawn" Phelps, Chan & Kapsalis (2001), p. 231 ·
PCK01-C5
Grades: A, verified against the printed page of the primary source · B, primary source, text layer only · C, authoritative secondary · D, reported.
Related exhibits
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The trigger-to-resource decision card
From the essay Scenario planning starts when a trigger moves a resource
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The external-validity transfer matrix
From the essay What is external validity? A result needs a transfer boundary
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The measurement-error indicator audit
From the essay What is measurement error? The gap between a construct and its indicator