Research Methods Centre- Research Seminar “Constructing Clock Time”

While management research has devoted increasing attention to how actors shape temporal structures within organizations and industries, it has treated “clock time” – the daily temporal structures that shape organization and coordination at the societal level – as exogenous. Yet, such a stance fails to account for the historical role of managerial actions in the construction of modern clock time and discounts possibilities for its future role in reshaping societal time standards to address societal challenges. In this paper, we examine the construction of clock time using a microhistory focused on a single moment in its much longer development: the introduction of time zones in the United States on November 18, 1883. Our study suggests that “clock time” is constructed accretively, as new temporal experiences produce frictions with existing temporal structures for actors across multiple fields. Moreover, we identify five social processes by which these temporal frictions translate into changes in the structures of clock time: ideating, mobilizing, negotiating, materializing, and narrating. We conclude by highlighting how the study contributes to research and practice related to time and temporality in management today.