It's About Time: Temporal Structuring in Organizations

Wanda J. Orlikowski () and JoAnne Yates ()
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Wanda J. Orlikowski: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management (E53-325), 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142-1347
JoAnne Yates: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management (E52-544), 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142-1347

Organization Science, 2002, vol. 13, issue 6, 684-700

Abstract: In this paper we propose the notion of temporal structuring as a way of understanding and studying time as an enacted phenomenon within organizations. We suggest that through their everyday action, actors produce and reproduce a variety of temporal structures which in turn shape the temporal rhythm and form of their ongoing practices. A focus on temporal structuring, combined with a practice perspective, allows us to bridge the subjective-objective dichotomy that underlies much of the existing research on time in organizations. After developing the notion of temporal structuring, we illustrate its use in the context of a prior empirical study. We conclude by outlining some implications of temporal structuring for organizational research on time.

Keywords: Time; Temporal Structures; Structuring; Practice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (56)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:13:y:2002:i:6:p:684-700

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