A clockwork organisation: proposing a new theory of organisational temporality

Abstract

Time is an inherent quality of human life, yet it remains a hidden dimension in Information Systems (IS) research. In our 'real time' world, time has become a fundamentally important business performance indicator but the hidden costs associated with increased speed in firms are frequently overlooked. In research, there has been a lack of synthesis and coherence on the topic of time, largely because a reliance on myopic measures of time has resulted in a shortage of research on temporal construct associations. To address the conceptual weaknesses in studies of time, the aim of this research is to provide a rich definition and conceptualisation of time in an organisational context. Our framework of organisational temporal performance is based on a multidisciplinary literature review, where variants and sub-components of the concept have originated, matured, and have been applied and tested thoroughly over time. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the study and possible avenues for future research.