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Research on time in organizations spans disciplines and introduces a wide range of concepts. Here we set out to find an underlying structure to clarify the current state of temporal research. Our examination yields three categories of variables: conceptions of time. mapping activities to time, and actors relating to time. We elaborate intricacies within each category, interrelationships among categories, and assumptions made in each category about the others. We then use the framework to compare existing studies and generate propositions to develop the notion of temporal fit.
Suddenly, "time" and "timing" are everywhere. Speed, acceleration, just in time, and internet time are just a few concepts making headlines in the popular press. Academic journals also have seen a proliferation of research papers on time and timing. New terms, metaphors, and theories are emerging (e.g., time famine, entrainment, polychronicity, chronos and kairos, temporal playing fields, punctuated equilibrium, temporal linkages, cohort effects). Whether a construction of an organization based on Taylor's (1911) precepts of scientific management, a description of life in a religious setting (Durkheim, 1965), a consideration of the role of individuals in society (Jacques, 1982), or a theory of organizations (Weber, 1947), time has always been at the foundation of organization theory. As the pace of research dramatically accelerates, however, time and timing have moved from the background to the foreground.
An unintended consequence of the proliferation of research on time and timing is a lack of coherence in the field. This is natural. Research on time is still in the initial period of experimentation, and a dominant paradigm has yet to be developed (Abernathy & Utterback, 1988; Tushman & Anderson, 1986). Creativity and new ideas are rampant, but there is little integration among researchers; for example, multiple overarching frameworks have been proposed to explain timing (Albert, 1995), time reckoning (Clark, 1985), and the experience of time in organizations (Butler, 1995). In addition, although work is being conducted on the sociology of time (e.g., Hassard, 1990), social psychology of time (e.g., McGrath & Kelly, 1986), anthropology of time (e.g., Hall, 1983), and philosophy of time (e.g., Reichenbach, 1958), little dialogue exists across disciplines.
The pace and proliferation of research have reached a point where it is beneficial to reflect on what we have learned...