Time in organizations: Its experience, explanations and effects

Time is seen as a fundamental but neglected variable in organizational analysis. The paper develops a model of organizational time based upon the notion of a timeframe whereby time is advocated as a socially constructed variable, experienced in the present as represented by a number of variables which form four clusters of time. Explanations of this experience of time in the present derive from the organizational and institutional context. The timeframe of an organization is also seen to affect decision making and learning processes. The timeframe is bounded by knowledge of the past which is used to envision the future. The essential aspect of the past is the extent to which past knowledge can be codified, while the essential aspect of the future is the degree of congruence over visions of the future. The timeframe model is used to develop scenarios of how knowledge codification and goal congruence can change.