Strategy Making 'In Time'

This paper examines temporality in managerial strategy making. We build on the ontology of becoming to elucidate the temporal nature of strategy making. In our elaboration, we adopt an 'in time' view on temporality, according to which past, present and future always co-exist in the experience of temporality. We further draw on the notion that time has agency in determining organizational processes to depart from the notions of objective and subjective time and temporality. Through a longitudinal, real time study in a small Finnish software company, we empirically illustrate how managerial strategy making is inherently bound to a temporality paradox arising from the managers being engaged with two controversial times: they use linear, extended time as artefact in strategy making and 'over time' planning, while experiencing the real, non-linear passing of time, the becoming 'in time'. We further show that strategy making is essentially bound to 'in time' problematizing of the present continuities organized around the linear temporality. Therefore, we argue that temporality should not be treated merely as a subjective managerial orientation or separate aspect in strategy making, but as fundamental characteristic of reality defining the dynamics of strategy making.